RAMALLAH: A senior Fatah official yesterday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to settle the differences between international demands and Hamas movement’s redlines.
Qaddoura Faris, a member of Abbas’ Fatah Revolutionary Council, said that “President Abbas is asked to find out a formula enabling Hamas to live with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the upcoming government without colliding with the international community.”
Faris, who also heads the Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi Al-Asir) and is the former minister of prisoners’ affairs, made the call after a new round of unity talks between Hamas and Fatah failed on Thursday due to Hamas’ insistence not to join or accept the formation of any government that would recognize Israel according to the international community’s demands and to abide by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) commitments. The two movements have decided to suspend the Egyptian-hosted reconciliation talks for three weeks.
The International Quartet, which includes the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the Europeans have linked the recognition of the Palestinian unity government with the recognition of Israel, and the condemnation of violence.
The PLO, chaired by Abbas, had in 1988 recognized the state of Israel, and inked a series of interim peace agreements leading to the establishment of the PA in 1993.
The unity government is sought to replace the internationally boycotted Hamas government of the Gaza Strip and the western-backed government of the West Bank that Abbas formed after his forces lost Gaza in 2007.
Hamas’ government slammed what it termed “the calls to offer political concessions under the title of realism,” adding in a statement “this is considered as playing with the Palestinian people’s interests.”
Taher Al-Nouno, Hamas government’s spokesman, said in a statement sent to reporters, “We appreciate the Egyptian role to sponsor the dialogue, but we call on the factions not to be tied to the unfair Quartet requirements. “We consider the calls for offering political concessions under the title of realism amid the Israeli neglect of our people’s rights and to be committed to the deals that PLO had signed as a misuse of our people’s interests.” Hamas wants the unity government to adopt armed resistance against the Israeli occupation. “An authority that sponsors the resistance is sort of illusion; it is difficult for an authority to take care of the people’s daily life while sponsoring the resistance,” Faris added.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman suggested that Abbas forms a government that would be acceptable to the international community and asked rival factions to respond to this proposal.
The source reportedly said that “Suleiman’s transitional solution is based on a temporary government Abbas forms under any name but must be acceptable to the international community.”
“The government will quit when presidential and parliamentary elections start in the beginning of 2010,” he added. According to the source, Fatah has immediately accepted the proposal while Hamas’ delegation to Cairo requested time to consult with their leaders and that is why the dialogue has been postponed to April 26.
