GAZA CITY, 23 January 2006 — Just three days before crucial elections, Palestinian leaders differed yesterday over Hamas joining a new government whether or not the group agrees to stop attacks against Israel and back negotiations.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath said Hamas, running for Parliament for the first time and expected to do well or even win, must accept the principle of peace with Israel if it wants to share power.
However, Fatah’s top candidate, jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, said yesterday that Fatah and Hamas “are heading toward being partners in the field, and in Parliament.”
Barghouti, who was interviewed in an Israeli prison by the Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera, did not say what partnership he envisioned. In another interview, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected US pressure to exclude Hamas. “It has to take part and to be part of the political institution and later part of the political decisions,” he told the Al-Arabiya satellite channel.
In Gaza, meanwhile, a Palestinian was killed and two others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Israel said the three were approaching the Karni cargo crossing, planning to infiltrate and carry out an attack. The crossing has been closed for 10 days because of security threats.
Recent polls indicate that Fatah and Hamas are running neck-and-neck ahead of Wednesday’s Parliament vote. But Shaath said he is confident Fatah will win enough of the legislature’s 132 seats to form a government on its own — and then offer to share power with parties that accept the US-backed road map peace plan and recognize Israel.
“After the election, I think we will establish a government in coalition with the leftist and the independent lists,” he said.
“With these people, we can agree on a joint program that includes negotiations with Israel, the implementation of the road map and a cease-fire (with Israel),” Shaath said.
“With Hamas, it will be very difficult to reach a joint program,” Shaath added. “We can’t form a coalition with Hamas if it doesn’t agree to this program.”
Although known best for its bombings, Hamas has been able to tap a strong grass-roots base in its first run for the legislature, capitalizing on an image of incorruptibility and decades of large-scale health, education and social projects. Fatah, meanwhile, has been unable to shed its image of corruption or take control of lawless West Bank and Gaza Strip streets.
— With input from agencies
