Monday, February 6, 2012
Palestinian rivals agree to form unity government
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal attend a signing ceremony in Doha.
The leaders of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in Qatar today to form a unity government of independent technocrats for the West Bank and Gaza, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The move, following the failure of exploratory Israeli-Palestinian talks aimed at reviving stalled peace negotiations, was likely to be condemned by Israel and the United States, who say the Islamist Hamas cannot be part of any peace efforts.
The accord signed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is supposed to pave the way for Palestinian presidential and parliamentary election possibly later this year, and to rebuild the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip following a 2008-2009 Israeli offensive against Hamas.
It was not known whether the deal would be implemented. No timetable was set. A reconciliation pact Fatah and Hamas struck in May 2011 has had little substantive result but both sides said they were serious about carrying out the new accord.
Abbas' Palestinian Authority supports a negotiated peace with Israel that would give Palestinians an independent state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza, co-existing alongside the Jewish state.
Meshaal's Hamas is officially sworn to the destruction of Israel but is open to an indefinite ceasefire.
Their conflicting positions have not been resolved despite the new deal.
"They are avoiding the main issue," said political analyst Hani al Masri. "They are waiting to see what the international community's reaction will be. This leaves all the important issues unresolved."
A diplomat in the region, who declined to named, said Hamas leaders in Gaza appeared to have been surprised by the Doha announcement and were likely to raise questions with Meshaal, who has until recently lived in exile in Damascus.
"The agreement in Doha did not have a normal birth, I mean it did not come in complete coordination within Hamas. The whole thing came as a surprise in Gaza. We have to watch whether it will work," the diplomat said.
The move, following the failure of exploratory Israeli-Palestinian talks aimed at reviving stalled peace negotiations, was likely to be condemned by Israel and the United States, who say the Islamist Hamas cannot be part of any peace efforts.
The accord signed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is supposed to pave the way for Palestinian presidential and parliamentary election possibly later this year, and to rebuild the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip following a 2008-2009 Israeli offensive against Hamas.
It was not known whether the deal would be implemented. No timetable was set. A reconciliation pact Fatah and Hamas struck in May 2011 has had little substantive result but both sides said they were serious about carrying out the new accord.
Abbas' Palestinian Authority supports a negotiated peace with Israel that would give Palestinians an independent state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza, co-existing alongside the Jewish state.
Meshaal's Hamas is officially sworn to the destruction of Israel but is open to an indefinite ceasefire.
Their conflicting positions have not been resolved despite the new deal.
"They are avoiding the main issue," said political analyst Hani al Masri. "They are waiting to see what the international community's reaction will be. This leaves all the important issues unresolved."
A diplomat in the region, who declined to named, said Hamas leaders in Gaza appeared to have been surprised by the Doha announcement and were likely to raise questions with Meshaal, who has until recently lived in exile in Damascus.
"The agreement in Doha did not have a normal birth, I mean it did not come in complete coordination within Hamas. The whole thing came as a surprise in Gaza. We have to watch whether it will work," the diplomat said.
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