Palestinians say end division at Cairo ceremony
By Marwa Awad - MAY 4,11 10:59AM
CAIRO (Reuters) – Palestinian leaders formally ended a four-year rift between secular Fatah and the Islamist Hamas at a ceremony in Egypt on Wednesday, a reconciliation their people see as crucial for their drive to set up an independent state.Israel, which in 1967 captured the territories -- the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- where the Palestinians seek statehood, decried the deal as a blow to prospects for peace.We announce to Palestinians that we turn forever the black page of division, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's leader, said in his opening address.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to London: What happened today in Cairo is a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism.Hamas, whose founding charter calls for Israel's destruction, seized the Gaza Strip from Fatah forces in a brief Palestinian civil war in 2007. It has opposed Abbas's quest for a negotiated peace with the Jewish state.In what appeared a sign of lingering friction, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal did not share the podium with Abbas and the ceremony was delayed briefly over where he would sit. Against expectations, neither signed the unity document.Hamas leaders will meet Abbas next week, possibly in Cairo, to start work on implementing the accord, deputy Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk said after the ceremony.
In his speech to the gathering, Meshaal said Hamas sought a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza devoid of any Israeli settlers and without giving up a single inch of land or the right of return of Palestinian refugees.Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005. It has kept up settlement activity in the much larger West Bank.Hamas has stated in the past that it would accept as an interim solution in the form of a state in all of the territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, along with a long-term ceasefire.The unity deal calls for forming an interim government to run the West Bank, where Abbas is based, and the Gaza Strip, and prepare for long-overdue parliamentary and presidential elections within a year.In his speech, Abbas repeated his call for a halt to Jewish settlement construction as a condition for resuming peace talks with Israel that began in September but fizzled within weeks after it refused to extend a limited building moratorium.The state of Palestine must be born this year, he said.Abbas is widely expected, in the absence of peace talks, to ask the U.N. General Assembly in September to recognize a Palestinian state in all of the West Bank and Gaza. Israel and the United States oppose such a unilateral move.
DIPLOMATIC PROBLEMS
Palestinians view reconciliation as an essential step toward presenting a common front at the United Nations and a reflection of a deep-seated public desire to end the internal schism amid popular revolts that have swept the Arab world.But the deal presents potential diplomatic problems for Abbas's aid-dependent Palestinian Authority. Much of the West shuns Hamas over its refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals.The United States has reacted coolly to the reconciliation accord. A State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said the United States would look at the formation of any new Palestinian government before taking steps on future aid. The Cairo ceremony was greeted with celebrations in the Palestinian territories. But the public displays were less enthusiastic in the West Bank, where Abbas's Fatah movement holds sway, and some doubted the deal was genuine.We have decided to pay any price so that reconciliation is achieved,said Meshaal.Our real fight is with the Israeli occupier, not Palestinian factions and sons of the one nation.Meshaal later went to meet Abbas where he was staying in Cairo to discuss the deal, Palestinian sources said. A spokesman for Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said the deal was signed on behalf of Fatah by Azzam al-Ahmad and for Hamas by Marzouk. It was not immediately clear why Meshaal and Abbas did not put their own signatures to the deal.What we heard was that Abbas said he was the president of the Palestinian people of Fatah and of Hamas and not a leader of one faction only,said the Palestinian source on the signing. Egypt has set up a committee to oversee implementation of the accord.(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Ali Sawaftah in Ramallah; Writing by Sami Aboudi and Edmund Blair; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Mark Heinrich)
Palestinian premier Fayyad hails unity deal
MAY 4,11
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday welcomed a surprise unity accord between Fatah and Hamas but stressed the deal must be implemented on the ground immediately.It's a very happy moment, the signing of the the agreement by the Palestinian factions, he told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah of the deal, under which an interim government of independents is to be selected paving the way for elections in a year's time.But he acknowledged that the deal was only a first step.We've been waiting a long time for this to happen because the unity of the nation is one of the basic issues to prepare for a Palestinian state, the premier said.Fayyad said the world would be watching the results of the agreement and it was key that both sides began to implement its terms straight away.All the world will see that the Palestinian Authority is going forward in one direction and this issue is very important,he said.It's very important now to begin immediately to have a procedure on the ground.The US State Department said on Tuesday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called both Fayyad and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the reconciliation deal.But a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Clinton had not threatened to cut off aid to any new Palestinian government.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian official, on Wednesday said Clinton's phone call largely concerned Israel's decision to withhold its transfer of Palestinian tax revenues in the wake of the unity deal.If things move in the right direction, we believe there won't be any justification for any international party to take a negative position against the reconciliation,he told Palestinian radio.Our peaceful struggle to end the occupation will continue, so I cannot see why the United States or any other international party would take punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Palestinian deal a blow to peace: Israel PM
MAY 4,11
LONDON (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday condemned a reconciliation deal between the leaders of the main Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas as a tremendous blow to peace.What happened today in Cairo is a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism, Netanyahu told reporters in London where he is due to hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal buried the hatchet at a reconciliation ceremony in the Egyptian capital on Wednesday that ends a nearly four-year feud.Netanyahu pointed to Hamas's recent statement condemning the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan as proof that the deal would harm chances of a peace deal in the Middle East.Three days ago terrorism was dealt a resounding defeat with the elimination of bin Laden. Today in Cairo it had a victory,he said.
Because when Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas), the head of the Palestinian Authority, embraces Hamas, an organisation that two days ago condemned the American action against bin Laden, praises bin Laden to the gills as some great martyr for emulation, when he (Abbas) embraces this organisation which is committed to Israel's destruction... this is a tremendous setback for peace and a great advance for terror,the Israeli premier said.The only way we can make peace is with our neighbours who want peace. Those who want to eliminate us, those who practise terror against us, are not partners for peace.
Blair: Palestinians must recognize Israel
MAY 4,11
JERUSALEM – Mideast envoy Tony Blair says the international community supports Palestinian reconciliation but will demand that the new unity government recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence.Wednesday's announcement could signal trouble for the new alliance between the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah movement. Hamas says it will never recognize Israel.Blair represents the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., the EU, U.N. and Russia. He told The Associated Press the Quartet wants to see who is chosen Palestinian prime minister before passing judgment, but Hamas must have a change of heart for the government to succeed.Similar Quartet demands four years ago led to the collapse of a previous unity government.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CAIRO (AP) — Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas on Wednesday proclaimed a landmark, Egyptian-mediated reconciliation pact aimed at ending their bitter four-year rift. The Palestinian president seized the occasion to deliver a scathing criticism of Israel, saying he would not succumb to its blackmail over the future of Mideast peacemaking.We forever turn the black page of division,the Western-backed Mahmoud Abbas said at the declaration ceremony in the Egyptian capital Cairo, promising to soon visit Hamas-held Gaza Strip.The pact, long in the making, provides for the creation of a joint caretaker Palestinian government ahead of national elections next year but leaves key issues unresolved, such as who will control the Palestinian security forces, and makes no mention of relations with Israel.Israel had denounced the pact in advance of the Cairo ceremony because of the militant Hamas' long history of deadly attacks against Israeli targets. It also equated the deal with a renunciation of peacemaking.Like the U.S. and the European Union, Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization and says it will not negotiate with a future Palestinian government that includes the Iranian- and Syrian-backed group.
Abbas rejected Israel's opposition to the pact, saying the reconciliation with the militant Islamic group was an internal Palestinian affair.They are our brothers and family. We may differ, and we often do, but we still arrive at a minimum level of understanding,Abbas said of Hamas.In a message to Israel, Abbas added: We reject blackmail and it is no longer possible for us to accept the occupation of Palestinian land.Abbas said Israel cannot continue to act as a state above the law and called for an end to the construction of new Jewish settlements on lands the Palestinians want for a future state.Mr. Netanyahu, you must chose between settlements and peace,he said, addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abbas also reasserted his intention to win recognition of an independent Palestinian state in the U.N. General Assembly in September.Hamas leader Kahled Mashaal also addressed the ceremony, saying his group was prepared to do anything to translate the text of the pact to facts on the ground. Our battle is with the Israeli enemy and not with Palestinian factions.Egypt's intelligence chief Murad Mewafi asserted the right of the Palestinians to have their own state. The pact opens the way, not only for re-arranging the domestic Palestinian home, but also for a just peace,he said.It's not clear whether Western powers would deal with the new government that is to emerge from the unity deal. So far, they've said they are waiting to see its composition.The Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., the EU, the United Nations and Russia — has long demanded that Hamas renounce violence and recognize the principle of Israel's right to exist.But Abbas aide Nabil Shaath told Israel Radio ahead of Wednesday's ceremony that these demands are unfair, unworkable and do not make sense.
The only thing the Quartet needs to know, he said, is that Hamas would refrain from any violence ... and be interested in the peace process.Hamas and other Palestinian militant factions in Gaza have agreed to abide by an unofficial truce with Israel, largely in place since Israel's January 2009 war in the territory. But it is unclear how long that truce will last, and Hamas has consistently rejected negotiations with Israel.The reconciliation deal is designed to unify the dueling Palestinian governments that emerged after Hamas violently wrested control of Gaza from security forces loyal to Abbas in June 2007 and left his Fatah controlling only the West Bank.In a symbolic step, Hamas allowed Fatah-controlled Palestine TV to broadcast from Gaza for the first time since the 2007 takeover. The station's Gaza correspondent, Adel Zaanoun, discussed the excitement that Gazans felt about unity and invited Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader, onto the program.Today we end a dark chapter in our recent history,Radwan said.It's time now to work together ... With the support of our people and the Arab brothers, we will make this agreement work.
Also for the first time, Hamas permitted Gaza residents to wave yellow Fatah banners along with the green Hamas flags. Fatah displays had been banned by Hamas police in the past.Some Gazans greeted the impending deal with a mixture of hope and caution, the last failed attempt at unity fresh in their minds.Hope is all we have. We have suffered a lot from the political split,said Yousef Ali, a 22-year-old law student in Gaza.But fear is there. Failure is possible and this is something we need to keep in mind ... I think the people will not show mercy this time for anyone who will try to sabotage this unity.Ibrahim Qassem, a 45-year-old driver, said he did not trust the Palestinian leaders. I saw the same atmosphere in 2007. What's the difference now? Associated Press Writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
Jimmy Carter urges support for Palestinian deal
- MAY 4,11
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Former US president Jimmy Carter on Wednesday urged the international community to support a new Palestinian unity deal, saying it would improve the chances for Middle East peace.Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party and its rivals in the Islamist Hamas penned the deal on Tuesday to end years of infighting, but Israel has called the agreement a blow to the peace process.Carter, writing in an op-ed for the Washington Post, urged the United States and the international community to look past Hamas's pledge to destroy Israel and argued for the potential benefits of a unified Palestinian democracy.If the United States and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that can make a secure peace with Israel,Carter wrote.If they remain aloof or undermine the agreement, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory may deteriorate with a new round of violence against Israel.
Israel has ruled out dealing with any Palestinian entity that includes Hamas, which is also blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union because of its commitment to armed struggle.But Carter insisted that Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, with whom he has met on a number of occasions, told him that Hamas would accept a two-state agreement provided it was approved in a Palestinian referendum.Such an agreement could provide mutual recognition -- Israel would recognize an independent Palestinian state and Palestine would recognize Israel, Carter wrote.In other words, an agreement will include Hamas's recognition of Israel.
Representatives of Fatah, Hamas and 11 other Palestinian factions, as well as independent political figures, inked the reconciliation deal on Tuesday following talks with Egyptian officials.It provides for the formation of an interim government of independents to lay the groundwork for presidential and parliamentary elections within a year.
Hamas to work for state in West Bank, Gaza: Meshaal
-MAY 4,11
CAIRO (AFP) – Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday that his Islamist movement would work to achieve the Palestinian national goal of a sovereign state on the Gaza Strip and West Bank.Meshaal said Hamas sought the establishment of an independent sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital and without giving up an inch nor the right of return.
Israeli PM takes Hamas fight to Europe
by Steve Weizman - MAY 4,11
LONDON (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to convince his British counterpart David Cameron on Wednesday that a deal between the two Palestinian factions would be disastrous for Middle East peace.As Israel tries to fight off UN recognition of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu is to meet Cameron on Wednesday evening and on Thursday will fly to Paris to present his case to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Netanyahu is fiercely opposed to the militant Islamist Hamas movement having any role in a caretaker Palestinian government being formed by Palestinian Fatah president Mahmud Abbas.The rapprochement has already been welcomed, albeit cautiously, by British Foreign Secretary William Hague, although Hague later criticised Hamas for mourning the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Before travelling to Britain on Tuesday, Netanyahu told Britain's former premier Tony Blair that Abbas must completely cancel the agreement which seeks to end years of bad blood between Abbas' Fatah movement and its Hamas rivals.The agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas is a hard blow to the peace process, Netanayhu told Blair, the Middle East envoy for the diplomatic Quartet of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.How is it possible to achieve peace with a government, half of which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and even praises the arch-murderer Osama Bin Laden,Netnyahu said.
A statement from Netanyahu's office said he will make similar remarks during his meetings in London and Paris with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Hamas's reference to bin Laden as a holy warrior on Tuesday sparked a sharp response from London as well as from the US State Department, which described the Islamists' response as outrageous.Even so, Netanyahu looks set to face a sceptical audience in both London and Paris, with Sarkozy giving the clearest indication yet that France may recognise an independent Palestinian state if peace talks do not resume soon.If the peace process is still dead in September, France will face up to its responsibilities on the central question of recognition of a Palestinian state,he said in an interview with L'Express magazine.
Netanyahu wants European leaders to oppose, or at least abstain, if the Palestinians seek United Nations recognition of a unilateral declaration of statehood when the body's General Assembly convenes in September.Analysts expect Cameron and Sarkozy to listen politely to his arguments but reserve immediate judgement.Netanyahu has said he will outline a new political initiative when he addresses a joint session of the US Congress in May, but so far he has kept his cards close to his chest.Israel and the United States oppose a unilateral statehood bid, saying a Palestinian state can only be achieved through negotiation.But Britain and France see things differently, with their UN envoys indicating last month they may back the Palestinian campaign as a way to relaunch the peace process.
Netanyahu to lobby UK, France over Palestinian state
by Steve Weizman – Tue May 3, 6:19 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – When Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu visits Britain and France this week, he will point to a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal as part of his fight to head off UN recognition of a Palestinian state.Hours before arriving in Britain, Netanyahu called on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to completely cancel the agreement which seeks to end years of bad blood between the secular Fatah movement and its Islamist Hamas rivals.The accord, signed on Tuesday, will see the two factions work together to build a transitional government of independent candidates, while leaving the issue of peace negotiations in the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, headed by Abbas.But Netanyahu will tell his French and British counterparts that Israel cannot negotiate with the agreement in place, pointing in particular to Hamas's outspoken condemnation of the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by US forces on Sunday.The agreement between Abu Mazen (Abbas) and Hamas deals a hard blow to the peace process, Netanyahu said shortly before leaving.How can we make peace with a government when half of it calls for the destruction of Israel and glorifies the murderous Osama bin Laden? Hamas's reference to bin Laden as a holy warrior on Tuesday sparked a sharp response from London as well as from the US State Department, which described the Islamists' response as outrageous.But in Israel, the comments -- described by one paper as inconceivable stupidity on the part of Hamas -- were seen as playing squarely into Netanyahu's hands.The response by Hamas, which condemned bin Laden?s assassination, only strengthens Israel?s position and sends the responsibility rolling towards Abu Mazen,a political official told the Israel Hayom newspaper.Even so, Netanyahu looks set to face a sceptical audience in both London and Paris, with President Nicolas Sarkozy giving the clearest indication yet that France may recognise an independent Palestinian state if peace talks do not resume soon.
If the peace process is still dead in September, France will face up to its responsibilities on the central question of recognition of a Palestinian state, he said in an interview with L'Express magazine.Analysts expect British Prime Minister David Cameron, whom Netanyahu will meet on Wednesday, and Sarkozy, whom he meets on Thursday, to listen politely but reserve immediate judgement.There's so much going on in the Middle East of real dramatic import that the endless dance of the Israelis and Palestinians is struggling a little bit to get the attention that it once perhaps deserved,said Jonathan Spyer, a political analyst at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre.Netanyahu has said he will outline a new political initiative when he addresses a joint session of the US Congress in May, but so far he has kept his cards close to his chest.In the meantime, he is seeking to head off European support for a Palestinian bid to win UN recognition for a state within the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital, in a move expected to take place at September's annual General Assembly.Israel and the United States oppose such a move, saying a Palestinian state can only be achieved through negotiation.But Britain and France see things differently, with their UN envoys indicating last month they may back the Palestinian campaign as a way to relaunch the peace process.
Spyer sees no breakthrough for Netanyahu on this trip, but he does believe that drawing attention to Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority's new relationship with Hamas -- which is blacklisted by the European Union as a terrorist organisation -- will carry some weight. Israel will have a case for saying:As long as these guys are on board what do you expect us to do? That case will be challenged, but the case is makeable,he said. But the Jerusalem Post suggested that many Europeans would see the unity deal between the rival Palestinian movements as a sign Hamas was moderating its position.For months there have been voices proclaiming that ... Hamas can be tamed by being brought into the political tent,diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon wrote at the weekend.Rather than be put off, like most Israelis were, by the fact that the PA is on the verge of incorporating into its unity government an organisation calling for Israel's destruction, many in Europe will see this move as an indication that Hamas has become pragmatic and more moderate as a result of the apparent loss of its patron in Syria.
Gaza demonstrators condemn death of bin Laden
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press – Tue May 3, 5:40 pm ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Some two dozen Palestinians gathered in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pay tribute to slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.About 25 people holding pictures and posters of bin Laden rallied outside a Gaza City university. The crowd included al-Qaida sympathizers as well as students who said they opposed bin Laden's ideology, but were angry at the U.S. for killing him and consider him a martyr.
Hamas police did not interfere in the demonstration.
In the weeks ahead of bin Laden's death, a survey in the Arab world by the Pew Research Center found support for the al-Qaida leader had dropped dramatically in recent years — though it remained the highest among Palestinians.The survey said about a third of Palestinians believed bin Laden would do the right thing in world affairs, which still represented a dramatic drop from a few years ago when overwhelming numbers approved of him.On Monday, Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of Gaza's Hamas government, condemned the U.S. operation against bin Laden, whom he hailed as a Muslim and Arab warrior. Still, the Islamic Hamas has always distanced itself from al-Qaida's militant Islamic ideology, saying its battle is against Israel, not the West.Al-Qaida's supporters have often accused Hamas of being too moderate and clashed with them.Israel's Channel 2 TV broadcast video Tuesday from Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, showing a Palestinian preacher mourning bin Laden, calling him a hero and a lion of Islam, cursing President Barack Obama, and hurling insults at Pope John Paul II.The video showed him preaching to a few dozen listeners.In Israel, police said they beefed up security around sensitive sites, including the airport, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. consulate and areas where U.S. officials live, in case of revenge attacks.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld characterized the reinforcements as precautionary.
Latest developments in Arab world's unrest
By The Associated Press – Mon May 2, 5:50 pm ET
LIBYA-Libyans shouting for revenge bury Moammar Gadhafi's second youngest son to the thundering sound of anti-aircraft fire, as South Africa warns that the NATO bombing that killed him would only bring more violence.Libya's leader does not attend the tumultuous funeral of 29-year-old Seif al-Arab, but older brothers Seif al-Islam and Mohammed pay their respects, amid several thousand mourners.Fierce battles continue to rage in Misrata, the besieged rebel-held city in western Libya that has been shelled daily by Libyan forces in recent weeks. At least eight people die and more than 50 are injured on Monday, according to records at one hospital in the city.
SYRIA-Syrian troops go door-to-door in cities and towns across the nation, arresting scores of people in a campaign of intimidation aimed at crushing an uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime, activists say.Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says hundreds of people have been arrested over the past two days alone.
YEMEN-Thousands of protesters take to the streets of cities across Yemen to press the embattled president to step down after he balks at signing a deal by Arab mediators to end the impoverished nation's spiraling political crisis.Security forces fire gunshots to disperse a crowd of protesters in the southern city of Aden, killing a bystander watching the march from his balcony. A woman on the street is hit in the shoulder and injured.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES-An activist says authorities cracking down on a small reform movement dissolve the board of a teachers association after its members signed a petition calling for an elected parliament.The step appears linked to the government's efforts to silence calls for democratic reforms in the oil-rich Gulf nation. Five democracy advocates were arrested last month and the board of a lawyers group was dissolved last week, also for signing the petition.
Jordan hopes bin Laden's death ends terror era
– Mon May 2, 2:46 pm ET
AMMAN (Reuters) – Staunch U.S. ally Jordan said on Monday it hoped the death of Osama bin Laden would end an era of terror by radical groups in the region that damaged global support for the Palestinian cause.A Jordanian source told the state news agency Petra Amman now looked toward a period where terrorism that had distorted the fairness of the Palestinian cause would end.The official source said it was now crucial to end the decades-old conflict that had been used by al Qaeda to justify its terror.Jordan, which is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and Israel's peace partner, has been pursuing al Qaeda aggressively for years. It cooperates closely with U.S. and other intelligence agencies.The source said bin Laden's death could help ease anti-Islam phobia in the West and promote Muslim-Christian reconciliation.The Arab moderate kingdom has often been targeted by al Qaeda and other Islamic militants. It regularly arrests radical Islamic suspects and puts them on trial.(Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi)
Palestinian unity deal is setback for US-led peace effort
by Lachlan Carmichael – Sun May 1, 4:28 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Obama administration moves to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have hit a new snag with a Palestinian unity deal, as US clout in the Arab world wanes, analysts said.The deal between the secularist Fatah and radical Islamist Hamas factions, due to be signed on Wednesday, has drawn Israeli ire and prompted US lawmakers to warn the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority it risks losing US aid.Israel and the United States both consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization.
However, analysts said, rising popular pressure forced US-backed Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to clinch a deal under which the bitter rivals agreed to form a transitional government ahead of elections within a year.
Palestinians, emboldened by pro-democracy revolutions sweeping the Arab world, have for weeks been demanding unity between Fatah, which dominates the West Bank, and Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip coastal enclave.This (deal) really does cast the die in a way that reflects the almost irrelevance of America as an actor in their (Palestinian) issues, according to Aaron David Miller, a former US Middle East peace negotiator.Miller, now a public policy scholar with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said Abbas is not thinking about how his actions play in Israel and the United States.Instead, Miller said, he is focused on broadening and legitimizing his domestic base" and eventually winning recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September -- a route to statehood opposed by Washington.The Palestinians have gone and done something which really makes our position untenable. It's even questionable whether we will be able to deal with a government in which Hamas ministers sit, Miller told AFP.National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor warned last week that any Palestinian unity government must renounce violence, abide by past peace agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.Hamas has long rejected those principles endorsed by the Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.The Palestinian move, Miller said, hands Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major propaganda victory before he visits Washington next month to address Congress.
And it makes it harder for President Barack Obama's administration which relaunched peace talks last September only to see them grind to halt when a partial freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank ended.The right-wing Netanyahu will feel less pressure to make concessions to the Palestinians as he will be better able to portray Abbas as not serious about peace, he said.Meanwhile, he said, Obama, who is due to give a speech soon on Middle East policy, will be wary of proposing US ideas for a settlement on borders and Jerusalem, for example, that could be perceived as rewarding the Palestinians.Shibley Telhami, a Middle East expert at the University of Maryland, agreed that the reconcilition deal strengthened Netanyahu's hand and put the (Obama) administration in a bind.It is indeed likely to change the content of their speeches, he added.However, he said events were still unfolding and it may be possible for a Palestinian unity government to be formed that continues to negotiate with Israel on the basis of accepting the Jewish state and renouncing terrorism.That's separate from what position that they (Hamas) may or not have as a party. I think that's a little bit difficult for a lot of people to accept. It's going to take a lot of diplomatic skill to manage it,he said. Telhami said US policy makers were contending with a new Arab reality.The rise in the importance of public opinion makes governments in the Middle East somewhat less sensitive to the US and more sensitive to the public and in that sense it reduces the degree of immediate influence the US has,he said.Analysts said Egypt, after president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February, is also now steering a more independent diplomatic course by brokering the Palestinian deal, planning to open the border with Gaza and warming up to Iran.Robert Danin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under president George W. Bush, said Washington can no longer count on Egypt as the steadfast ally it was under Mubarak.A post-Mubarak Egypt is going to be much more independent...of the United States and more challenging to work with as a partner to advance the peace process,Danin told AFP.
