DOHA, February 8, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The West’s rejection of Hamas after its democratic landslide election victory makes its democracy and political reform calls in the region rather insignificant and useless, according to Alain Gresh, the editor-in-chief of France’s Le Monde Diplomatique magazine.

“Rejecting Hamas by the West will cast a spanner in the efforts of bringing democracy and political reforms to the Middle East,” Gresh told IslamOnline.net Wednesday, February 7, on the sidelines of his visit to the Qatari capital Doha.

“This stance gives an excuse for Arab regimes to drag their feet on the much-hoped reforms since the West does not respect the results of the democratic process in the Palestinian territories,” he said.

"What do they mean by democracy and elections if they reject dealing with the democratically-elected Hamas?"

Hamas swept the Palestinian legislative elections last month, winning a surprising 74 of the 132-seat legislature, against 45 for the ruling Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas.

The United States and the European Union have reiterated their opposition to talk to Hamas unless it recognizes Israel, “renounces violence” and commits itself to past agreements with Israel.

The Middle East peacemaking Quartet, which groups the US, EU, Russia and the UN, warned late January that financial aid to the Palestinians would be under threat if Hamas did not recognize Israel.

Reacting to the Quartet demands, the resistance group accused the West of blackmail.

The French magazine chief editor described the conditions put by the West to deal with Hamas as “illogical.”

“The European conditions are not applicable. It is not logical to ask Hamas to recognize Israel for a start,” said Gresh.

He said Hamas, however, should respect the accords signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel as a fait accompli.

"Hamas hinted at détente when it said it was “ready for a long truce with Israel," he said.

"Hamas is a political force that has a pragmatic approach. It is not an extremist organization," he stressed.

Citing reasons for Hamas stunning victory, Gresh said that Palestinian voters rejected foreign dictations and pressures to keep Hamas off the political landscape.

"Add to that the group’s extensive charity work, uphill struggle against the Israeli occupation and Fatah’s failure in improving living conditions of the Palestinians and in even establishing a quasi-state," added the veteran French journalist.

Gresh pointed out that Israel was the main reason behind the dormant peace process.

“Israel’s expanding settlement policy is the main culprit behind the peace deadlock,” he explained, noting that Israel would not change this policy no matter who ruled the Palestinians.

“The peace process reached a cul-de-sac before Hamas’s electoral win, when Fatah had been at the helm,” he added.

Gresh said Israel kept on murmuring the same clichés and the "no peace partner" excuse.

“Israel saw [late Palestinian president Yasser] Arafat as a stumbling block to peace and nothing has changed [under President Mahmoud Abbas].”

Britain’s daily Guardian said last month that Europeans were making much fuss about Hamas's refusal to accept Israel.

“History and international politics do not march in tidy simultaneous steps. For decades Israel refused even to recognize the existence of the Palestinian people, just as Turkey did not recognize the Kurds,” it said.

The paper said until 15 years ago the Palestinians had to be smuggled to international summits as part of Jordan's delegation.

On the French foreign policy which has been leaning over the past two years to the American stand, Gresh said the “political weakness” of President Jacques Chirac is to blame as he did not want a confrontation with the US and Israel.

He said after French-US ties had turned sour due to the US invasion of Iraq, Chirac started to gradually improve bilateral ties.

“France supported an Iraqi government under occupation and called for a political solution to the Iraq crisis,” he said.

“As far as the Palestinian cause is concerned, the French position has not changed in principle,” Gresh said, “but Paris and Tel Aviv have displayed signs of rapprochement as they exchanged high-profile visits and boosted military cooperation.”

More and more, he added, Paris is also coordinating with Washington in possible actions against Syria over its alleged role in assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, and supported referring the Iranian nuclear crisis to the UN Security Council.

He said Paris is further cooperating closely with Washington in its so-called global war on terror particularly in 2003-04 as they saw eye to eye on the security challenges ahead.