A flurry of diplomatic activity has in recent weeks renewed hope of an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Yesterday, Mike Gapes MP suggested in these pages that those efforts should include Hamas. Gapes, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, is held in highest esteem by Israelis and Palestinians alike for his efforts to foster reconciliation in our region. But by calling for dialogue with extremists, he risks damaging the peace process just as a few green shoots are beginning to show.

I can only suppose that, like the rest of us, he is frustrated by the lack of substantial progress towards our common goal: an independent Palestinian state existing peacefully side by side with Israel. But following Hamas’s coup in Gaza, a window of opportunity has opened for the formation of a new moderate Palestinian government. If we can build on this momentum, the regional summit planned for this autumn could bring real results.

In the Palestinian president, Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas, we believe we have found a partner who can fulfill the national aspirations of the Palestinian people and deliver a meaningful peace. Contrast this with Hamas, which, despite its public relations successes, remains an extremist group motivated by a murderous ideology, using violent and criminal means to meet its ends. Abbas himself has described Hamas members as terrorists, ruling out direct talks following the bloody coup in Gaza. Any attempt to do differently will undermine him, damaging both his ability to negotiate and to govern.

After the disengagement from Gaza, it was Hamas that terrorised Israeli civilians with a near-constant barrage of rockets fired from the very areas Israel had returned to Palestinian control. The world has seen the terrible damage that these attacks can do to everyday life in a small town like Sderot. Now Hamas has its sights set on the West Bank. What rockets fired from there could do to Tel Aviv, only a few miles inside the Green Line, does not bear thinking about.

Abbas and his prime minister Salam Fayad have the chance to show their people what a future Palestinian state could look like: peaceful, prosperous and democratic. Of course, Israel’s expectations of Abbas are not unrealistic. We do not expect him to achieve change overnight. But should the West Bank fall into the hands of the extremists, ordinary Palestinians and Israelis alike will be the ones who suffer.

In order to prevent this happening, Israel’s prime minister has proved himself willing to take courageous steps. The first Israeli premier to visit the Palestinian Authority since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, he took a personal risk in his meeting with Abbas last week to deliver the message that Israel is committed to helping the Palestinians build a viable and durable state. We should not lose sight of the importance of this change.

And Ehud Olmert brought far more than just words to Jericho. Israel has put its money where its mouth is, releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and freeing huge sums in revenues. Now it is up to Abbas to provide the reassurances that will allow Israel to go further in easing restrictions on the West Bank. He bears a heavy burden of responsibility. But with the backing of the international community, he can succeed.

The international community has a moral duty to support those who would bring peace and deny succour to those who would make war. We must continue to make clear to all the Palestinian factions that political progress cannot be achieved through violence. Britain has a proud history of opposing extremism. Now, with the Middle East at so critical a juncture, is not the time to waver.