Even though the United States and Israel have classified both Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations and per long standing United States policy has often refused to negotiate with them, there is no escaping the reality that the road to Middle East peace to a large degree flows through Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel has generated much controversy throughout the world and a seemingly endless hatred from the enraged Arab masses for continued settlement building along the West Bank or occupying parts of Lebanon for decades, using cluster bombs in civilian areas during the 2006 war, and the battle with Syria over the Golan Heights. None of these actions is an excuse for the actions of Hezbollah and Hamas, which have been unpalatable to many a Western analyst for their own barbarity, rather just sets the stage for a statement of reality. Hamas and Hezbollah have the support of the masses in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon respectively, which means that they confer legitimacy in these societies.
Even though civilized nations throughout the world may find such actions unpalatable, the path to the much rhetorical Middle East peace lies with negotiations with Hezbollah and Hamas. The United States has tried in the past to support a coalition government in Lebanon and Fatah/PLO in the Palestinian conflict as the legitimate governing bodies, but any agreement arranged between organizations considered legit by Israel and America will be treated as toilet paper on the Arab street produced by the puppet agents of imperialism. At this point, no deal can be produced without Hezbollah and Hamas who have uttered rhetoric indicating their goal is to abolish the state of Israel. Tough times to dream of Middle East peace indeed, but the alternative is to wait for sea change within the Middle East, hoping Hezbollah and Hamas overreach bringing a more moderate organization to power, but in the mean time, the Middle East burns.
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