[WCUSP] Hamas: Fatah is aiding Western sanctions by foiling unity gov't

[Kate Zaidan]

Hamas: Fatah is aiding Western sanctions by foiling unity gov't

By Yoav Stern

Haaretz
12 October 2006

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/773550.html

Hamas accused Fatah on Wednesday of foiling Qatari efforts to broker the 
establishment of a Palestinian unity government and said that through 
its actions, Fatah was offering political support for Western sanctions 
against Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's Hamas-led government.

The senior Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, told a press 
conference that Hamas remained committed to a unity
government, but that Fatah was determined to overturn the Islamic 
party's victory at the polls during the January elections.

"We remain committed to a unity government. Our hands are stretched out 
to this and what we presented to the Qatari foreign minister guarantees 
its achievement," Hamdan said.

"The one who is ruining all the efforts is the [Palestinian] Authority 
president [Mahmoud Abbas] and his team. They are providing political 
cover for American-Israeli sanctions."

Aides of Abbas warned earlier this week that he might appoint an 
emergency government or call early elections after the latest efforts to 
form a unity government failed.

Hamas has denied that talks are at a dead end, but said that the latest 
initiative, presented in Gaza by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad 
bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, was unacceptable because it included 
recognition of Israel. According to a statement issued by Haniyeh's 
office, the Qatari Foreign Ministry assured the Hamas leader that it 
would continue its brokering efforts.

Hamdan said that Fatah was declaring that talks had failed because it 
wants them to fail.

"They don't want a unity government, since [U.S. President George W.] 
Bush told them this," he said. "This team's [Fatah] final objective is 
to overturn the choice of our people by any means and to implement a 
program that frees [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert from his 
political impasse and serves America's vision of the New Middle East."

"We welcomed the Qatari mediation from the start," Hamdan continued. "We 
were surprised when Abu Mazen [Abbas] and
his team said that their agreement to any plan was linked to U.S. 
backing for it."

Since its rise to power, the Hamas government has suffered sanctions by 
the international community because of its
failure to meet the three conditions posed by the Quartet for aid and 
recognition: relinquishing violence, recognizing Israel and accepting 
previous agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation 
Organization.

Qatar replaced Egypt in the effort to mediate between Fatah and Hamas on 
a unity government following a breakdown of talks between Hamas and 
Egyptian officials.

Jordan's King Abdullah warned the feuding Palestinians Wednesday that 
their hopes of statehood could be permanently wrecked within months 
unless they step back from the brink of civil war.

Palestinians have to put aside internal differences and face other 
challenges, he said, citing what he described as a growing right-wing 
camp in Israel that pursues an uncompromising "fortress Israel" mindset 
rather than "integration in the region."

-- 

Kate Zaidan
Program Coordinator
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section
1213 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-563-7110
www.wilpf.org

The Israeli prime minister in a live speech has just said that they are fighting the enemies of peace of Lebanon. I see. So those children that have been incinerated in Lebanon by Israeli bombing must have been enemies of peace. I will try to inform their parents.

As'ad'Abukhalil
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/