GEORGE SOROS THINKS THE U.S. SHOULD STOP LISTENING TO ISRAEL AND TALK TO HAMAS

Hey, Do You Recognize Me? (WSJ-BOTW)
The Financial Times has a rather stunning op-ed by far-left billionaire George Soros, advising America on Mideast policy:

The Bush administration is again committing a blunder in the Middle East by supporting the Israeli government in its refusal to recognise a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas. This precludes any progress towards a peace settlement at a time when such progress could help avert conflagration in the greater Middle East. . . .

Both Israel and the US seem frozen in their unwillingness to negotiate with a Palestinian Authority that includes Hamas. The sticking-point is Hamas's unwillingness to recognise the existence of Israel, but that could be made a condition for an eventual settlement rather than a precondition for negotiations.

Of course, Hamas not only refuses to recognize Israel but calls for Israel's total destruction. Seems to us this is more than a "sticking-point."

SEE ALSO: On Israel, America and AIPAC
The Bush administration is again committing a major policy blunder in the Middle East, one that is liable to have disastrous consequences and is not receiving the attention it should. This time it concerns the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, George Soros writes. (New York Review of Books)