JEDDAH, 22 March 2007 — Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal said yesterday that American attempts to create divisions within the Palestinian ranks would not succeed. He was referring to US moves to sabotage the new Palestinian unity government by agreeing to engage in talks with only the non-Hamas members of the Cabinet.
Hamas, which won free and fair elections by an overwhelming majority a year ago, retains the largest share of power in the new government. Its politicians now sit in the Cabinet alongside leaders from the rival Fatah movement and moderate independents.
On Tuesday, Jacob Walles, the US consul in Jerusalem, drove to the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he met Salam Fayyad, an internationally respected economist and political independent who holds the key finance portfolio in the unity government. The meeting, according to analysts, effectively ended a yearlong US diplomatic boycott of the Palestinian government. Meshaal, however, said the world should deal with the unity government without discriminating between ministers and should immediately lift the unjust financial blockade on the Palestinian people.
Addressing a press conference at the Jeddah headquarters of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Hamas chief said the bloody conflict between Palestinians in recent times was a direct result of outside interference, by which he meant the United States.
“The US and its ally, Israel, were fueling the fire of intra-Palestinian anger. They were playing one Palestinian faction against the other in the name of moderates and militants.”
Meshaal lamented that Palestinians had played into the “hands of the enemy” by turning on each other. “Of course, we were divided. We made mistakes. Now, however, we are united. We are speaking with one voice and have closed our ranks. The enemy will no longer find it easy to sow dissension,” he said.
Meshaal said he had spoken to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas three days ago about the US move to divide the government by engaging in talks with only non-Hamas members. “We agreed that this devious maneuvering on the part of America and Israel, that of only dealing with certain members of our Cabinet, will not continue,” he said. “We will not allow them to make mischief. They should deal with our government without discrimination.”
He appealed to the Arab and Islamic countries and governments to protect Palestinians from outside interference. “They (the Americans and the Israelis) can and should no longer ignore the ground reality. What is extremely important now is that we remain united as Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians. We pray to Allah to protect us from negative external interference.”
Meshaal said the Palestinians had learned their lessons from the bitter rivalry in the past. “Nobody wants to see a repeat of the bloody past in which Palestinians killed Palestinians. Everybody is now united and focused against the common danger that surrounds us. There is one enemy and one goal: that of ending the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Blasting Israeli intransigence, Meshaal said: “We know too well that this is our enemy. Therefore, we do not have great hopes of their recognizing the new government.” He said the unity government would continue to work diligently with the international community in highlighting the Palestinian point of view.
“With the support of the Arab and Islamic world along with the changes that we have witnessed in recent days, we will isolate Israel and America. They will have no choice but to abide by the choice of the international community of respecting the rights of the Palestinian people,” Meshaal said.
On the question of breaking off relations with Israel, Meshaal wondered what the normalization of ties between some Arab states and Israel had brought the Palestinians and the Arab world. “The Israelis are desecrating our nation, occupying our land; they are excavating the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Between 2007 and 2009, Israel will attempt to rebuild the temple on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, Israel doesn’t deserve any normalization of relations from our countries,” he said.
The Hamas chief said all Arab and Muslim governments should join hands in supporting the new government. “We need to get the unjust economic blockade lifted. Our energies should be focused on convincing the international community to play its part. America and Israel will have no choice but to follow the lead taken by the international community,” he said, referring to the recognition of the new government by Norway and Russia.
Meshaal praised the key role played by the OIC in general and its secretary-general in particular in the signing of the Makkah Declaration. “I am very happy to meet Brother Ihsanoglu and his assistants at the General Secretariat. They were in the forefront of all attempts to address the internal dispute and crises among us Palestinians. Their efforts and the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah have, by the grace of Allah, borne fruit and culminated in the successful signing of the historic Makkah Declaration.”
The Hamas chief said his meeting with King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in Riyadh on Tuesday was very fruitful. “We discussed steps to get the economic blockade lifted. We also discussed the upcoming Arab summit that is due to take place in Riyadh March 28-29. We received encouragement from the Saudi leadership and we hope these Arab positions will be translated into action at the Arab summit.”
On whether the Hamas statement that it would honor all previous accords signed by the PLO with Israel meant a tacit recognition of Israel, Meshaal said: “In the terms of reference of the Makkah Declaration, we agreed on the political foundations of this unity government. The terms of reference included respect for the agreements signed by the Palestinian movement with Israel. That is our common stand. And that is the basis of this unity government. We shall not give any additional explanations or interpretation on this matter.”
