GAZA, 22 September 2003 — Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qorei sought to rally support yesterday for his government-in-the-making and said he wanted to unify Palestinian factions to suggest a temporary truce to Israel.
But Qorei’s talks in Gaza with a committee representing 13 Palestinian factions did not include Hamas, the militant group which along with Islamic Jihad has carried out scores of bombings in Israel in a three-year-old uprising for statehood.
The two groups said they would not join a Palestinian administration that would promote a US-backed peace plan.
“We reject participation in a government that is governed by Oslo or by any other Israeli and US project,” Islamic Jihad official Khader Habib said.
Leaders of Hamas are in hiding from Israeli attack but Adnan Asfour, a political leader in Hamas, said by telephone from the West Bank that the group would not participate in the new Cabinet if asked.
The roar of Israeli F-16 warplanes echoed across Gaza City as Qorei, who is also known as Abu Ala, held the consultations.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, welcoming foreign dignitaries celebrating the 80th birthday of Shimon Peres, leader of the opposition Labour Party and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the peace plan faced two obstacles. “One is Yasser Arafat, who just a short time ago undermined the government of Abu Mazen because we started talks,” Sharon told the visitors. “Another thing is terror, because as long as terror exists I don’t think it’s a possibility...to move forward in the peace process.”
