What role has the US played in the current crisis?
The US has defended Israel’s crushing siege against the entire Palestinian people. This policy of trying to weaken Hamas is seen by many Palestinians as a punishment for their choice in last year’s free and democratic Palestinian election. The United States has tried to prop up President Abbas’ security forces by providing arms and training. U.S. officials have lauded President Abbas’s dismissal of the Hamas government and attempt to create a new one, although, as noted above, the latter measure is illegal under prevailing law. It now appears that the U.S. and Israel will lift the embargo against the West Bank, where Fatah remains largely in control, while maintaining and perhaps tightening the siege against Gaza, now controlled by Hamas.
