Thousands of Palestinians attend a funeral in Bethlehem for four men killed by the Israeli army this week. (Haytham Othman, Maan Images)

Undermined by recent violence, the U.S.-brokered Palestinian-Israeli peace process laid out in Annapolis, Maryland is in critical condition. And bringing the militant Islamic group Hamas into the fold could be the only way to save the faltering plan - an idea that even the George W. Bush administration may be reluctantly conceding is a necessary step.

Over the past several weeks, militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip fired a succession of rockets into nearby Israeli towns, followed inevitably by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) attacks on militants and incursions into Gaza.

"I can notice a slight change in the attitude of the Bush administration to the idea of engaging - even if indirectly and implicitly - Hamas in order to have a ceasefire in Gaza," said former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami at a conference at the New America Foundation. "They understand that Gaza can undermine Annapolis. And without a ceasefire in Gaza, Annapolis is doomed."

"Such a ceasefire needs to be seen, in my humble opinion, as the beginning; as a situation that might unleash a process leading to the gradual incorporation of Hamas into the wider peace process," he said, hoping that a reunited Palestinian Authority (PA) will legitimise the Annapolis talks.

Hamas effectively divided the power structure of the Palestinian territories last summer when it took Gaza by force after the failure of power-sharing talks with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which still controls the West Bank from Ramallah.

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The takeover triggered an Israeli siege of Gaza - setting off a humanitarian crisis which rights groups have called "man-made, completely avoidable" and reversible.

Prospects for a ceasefire in Gaza are raised by brief lulls in fighting, but fade as clashes reignite. Over a hundred Palestinians and several Israelis have been killed.

At the New America conference, Daniel Levy, the director of the foundation's Middle East Initiative and a former Israeli negotiator, laid out a potential plan for a comprehensive ceasefire package that includes easing the siege, recognition of Hamas governance, and encouragement of a Palestinian national dialog to create a unity government.

Levy questions whether Abbas on his own has the political strength to create and enforce an agreement that would satisfy both societies in conflict.

But by taking a negotiated deal to the Palestinian people and forcing a choice between his vision of a two-state solution and Hamas' rejection of Israel, Abbas may pressure Hamas to the table - essentially calling their bluff.

To read the full article please visit Inter Press Service.