GAZA CITY, 7 June 2006 — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday extended the deadline for the Hamas government to accept his ultimatum by either recognizing Israel or facing voters in a referendum.
The delay gave Hamas some breathing room as it struggles with a devastating international economic boycott and increasingly bloody tensions with Abbas’ Fatah movement. But Hamas leaders insisted they won’t cave in to deadlines.
Abbas has been pushing the Hamas-led government to accept a proposal that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, implicitly recognizing the Jewish state. Abbas, a moderate, believes the plan will help lift the economic pressure on the Palestinians and allow him to pursue peace talks with Israel.
Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, has balked at the plan, demanding changes in the language and calling for more time to discuss it. Fatah says talks can continue, but Abbas will not accept amendments.
Abbas had initially given Hamas until yesterday to accept the plan. But after consulting with the powerful PLO Executive Committee, Abbas agreed to give Hamas until the weekend to make a decision. Officials said Abbas agreed to the delay at the request of unspecified Arab leaders.
“President Abbas has informed the PLO leadership that he is going to prepare for the referendum by the end of the week,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top PLO official. “We are giving enough time, about three days, for our brothers in Hamas to reconsider their position.” The referendum would be held about 45 days after the announcement, officials said.
Israel opposes key elements of the 18-point document, but is staying on the sidelines during the internal Palestinian debate. At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making a series of trips abroad to discuss policy.
The Palestinian plan was formulated by senior Hamas and Fatah prisoners held by Israel. Prisoners hold great weight in Palestinian society.
But Hamas’ exiled leadership, which has the final say in policy decisions, has refused to endorse the plan.
Hamas officials welcomed Abbas’ offer to extend their dialogue but repeated their opposition to deadlines or the referendum.
“We still have a chance to make this dialogue a success,” said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza. “Therefore we ask for more meetings and more dialogue and that we don’t use the language of days and time as a threat.”
Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said Hamas welcomed the initiative.
Although the referendum would be nonbinding, Abbas believes it will put public pressure on Hamas to moderate its violent ideology.
A vote could deeply embarrass Hamas. A new survey released yesterday showed 77 percent of Palestinians would vote in favor of the proposal.
The survey of 1,200 Palestinians was conducted by Bir Zeit University in the West Bank and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
— With input from agencies
