November 24, 2007 (LPAC)--Yossi Beilin, the head of Israel's Meretz-Yachad Party, said in a Washington Post OpEd on Nov. 23 that Israel must start serious negotiations with Hamas. In his column called, "Needed: a Cease-Fire With Hamas, Now," Beilin says, "Given that the current policy of containment has not quelled the violence across its border, Israel should opt for another way. The only option that I see serving the cause of peace is to enter into a dialog with Hamas through a third party in order to reach a cease-fire. Such an agreement would include the total cessation of mutual violence; arrangements at the border to allow goods and services to pass in and out of the Gaza Strip; the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier abducted in June 2006; and a commitment by Hamas to prevent all attempts to undermine next week's meeting in Annapolis and the resulting process."

In 2006, immediately after the Israeli attack on Lebanon, which showed the ineffectiveness of Israel against asymmetrical warfare, Beilin called for a "Madrid II" conference that would open new avenues for a universal peace agreement. Beilin was right, and Lyndon LaRouche gave the Beilin call his full support. On the eve of the Annapolis meeting, which is a far cry from the comprehensive peace conference that Beilin had hoped for, he points out that Hamas is the neighbor of Israel--not Washington, Brussels, or Cairo, therefore Israel should pursue its own interest in a ceasefire with the Palestinians overall.