Gold9472
01-27-2006, 01:17 PM
Abbas to Ask Hamas to Form New Government
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he will ask Hamas to form a new government after his vanquished Fatah Party rejected a role in the Cabinet. Across the Gaza Strip, thousands of angry Fatah members burned cars and shot into the air, insisting their leaders form no coalition with the militant group.
Israel ruled out peace talks with Hamas in what could be the first steps to isolate the group after its election victory.
Acting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appealed to the international community not to legitimize a Palestinian government led by Hamas, saying elections are not a "whitewash" for terrorist groups.
He said Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last summer opened a window of opportunity in peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. With the election of Hamas, she said, "the Palestinians slammed it shut."
A Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, said the group had no immediate plans to recognize Israel.
"Why we are going to recognize Israel? Why? Is Israel ready to recognize the right of return for Palestinian people? Is Israel ready to recognize an independent (Palestinian) state, including Jerusalem?" asked Zahar, an incoming Hamas parliamentarian in Gaza. "We (will) not recognize anybody on the expense of our national interest."
Two polls published Friday in Israeli newspapers showed strong support among Israelis for talking to a Palestinian government led by Hamas.
But acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quickly ruled out talks.
"The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if even part of it is an armed terrorist organization calling for the destruction of the state of Israel," Olmert said.
President Bush and European leaders said Hamas must renounce violence and drop its demand to destroy Israel.
"If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace, and we're interested in peace," Bush said.
U.S. Consul-General Jacob Walles in Jerusalem said the United States would halt aid to Palestinians should a Hamas-led government come to power and not renounce terror.
The U.S. gave the Palestinian Authority $400 million in direct aid last year and several million more through U.N. charities, Walles said. Some of the money was handed directly to Palestinian ministries.
"I don't see how we would do that if those ministries were controlled by Hamas," he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet in London on Monday with U.N., Russian and European leaders as the so-called "Quartet" of would-be international peacemakers evaluates the results and tries to decide how to proceed.
Ismail Haniyeh, another Hamas leader, said he had asked Abbas to meet Sunday to discuss forming a new government. Abbas' office said no appointment has been made yet, and Abbas said separately he would ask Hamas to lead the next government.
Fatah, turned out of office by Palestinians angry over its corrupt and inefficient government, offered no help to Hamas, catapulted into leadership in its first foray into parliamentary politics.
Fatah leaders decided late Thursday not to enter a joint government with Hamas.
Hamas does not need Fatah to form a government — it won 76 of the 132 seats in parliament, a clear majority. Fatah, the undisputed ruler of Palestinian politics for four decades, got only 43. But Fatah could help Hamas by serving as a a conduit for talks with Israel.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia of Fatah and his Cabinet resigned Thursday to make room for a Hamas government.
In Gaza, about 1,000 angry party activists, including 100 gunmen, demanded the resignation of Fatah leaders. They drove by Abbas' residence, although he was not home at the time.
"We don't want to join the Hamas government! We don't want corrupt leadership! We want reform and we want to fire all the corrupt!" thousands chanted outside a Palestinian government building in Gaza City.
Thousands of Fatah supporters had marched in Gaza City earlier, shooting into the air and demanding that Fatah leaders resign, while backing their decision to stay out of a Hamas government.
Minor incidents marred an otherwise peaceful political revolution. A large crowd of Hamas supporters clashed briefly Thursday with Fatah loyalists outside the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah, with both sides throwing stones after Fatah activists pulled a Hamas flag from the building.
On Friday, three people were injured as an argument between about 20 Hamas and Fatah loyalists degenerated into gunfire and rock-throwing.
In Syria, a prominent Hamas leader pledged to continue resistance against Israeli occupation, although he did not specify if that meant violent opposition, and he stressed that the group would not yet recognize the Jewish state.
"As long as there is occupation and so long as our people's rights are usurped, our stand will remain as it is. We would resist the (Israeli) occupation to restore our rights," Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas movement, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Hamas ideology does not recognize the presence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East. In recent years, however, some Hamas leaders have grudgingly accepted the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, as long as it is understood to be only a stage toward freeing all of Palestine — including Israel.
Meeting with reporters, Livni said she spoke to several foreign ministers and told them of the need to send "a very clear, unequivocal message ... that elections are not a whitewash for terror."
"In these talks, I also made clear what was decided in the consultation with the acting prime minister, that Hamas cannot be a partner of Israel and the fact that it will lead the Palestinian Authority, if indeed this is what will happen, this means the Palestinian Authority also cannot be a partner, in the eyes of Israel and the whole world," she said.
Avi Dichter, a former Israeli security services chief, said he didn't expect terrorism to rise once Hamas takes over.
"The moment they become partner to the Palestinian government, reality will become a lot more complicated for them than it was when they were a terror organization alone," Dichter told Army Radio.
Hamas leaders themselves have hinted that despite their hard-line ideology, they will be pragmatic and not disrupt daily life in the territories.
Economic constraints are also likely to curb Hamas' extremism. With the Palestinian Authority dependent on foreign aid for its survival and on Israel for day-to-day needs such as electricity, water and the movement of people and goods, Hamas will have a hard time ignoring international calls to renounce violence.
Former President Carter told the AP that Washington should increase its donations to U.N. and other aid groups earmarked for the Palestinians to make up for the cut in direct aid "so that the people can still continue to have food and shelter and health care and education."
Carter met Friday with Abbas, who told him that the Palestinian Authority did not even have enough money to pay salaries at the end of the month, even with foreign aid.
If aid is cut off, "it would create an element of chaos unless the money is made up by other sources," he said. "If the Arab countries come through and the European countries continue to help and maybe Japan, they could continue to operate."
A poll conducted Thursday and published in the Maariv daily said 40 percent of Israelis say there should be talks with Hamas if it renounces its determination to destroy Israel. Another 27 percent say talks should be held with no conditions, based on the "road map" peace plan.
The poll showed 29 percent of Israelis favored cutting off all contacts with the Palestinians, freezing talks and resuming targeted killings of Hamas leaders. The poll of 552 people had a 4.2 percentage-point margin of error.
A poll in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper showed that 48 percent of those questioned by the Dahaf Research Institute said Israel should negotiate with Hamas, while 43 percent said Israel should shun a Hamas-led government.
The poll of 500 people had a 4.5 percentage point margin of error and was conducted Wednesday night, before Hamas' election victory was announced.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he will ask Hamas to form a new government after his vanquished Fatah Party rejected a role in the Cabinet. Across the Gaza Strip, thousands of angry Fatah members burned cars and shot into the air, insisting their leaders form no coalition with the militant group.
Israel ruled out peace talks with Hamas in what could be the first steps to isolate the group after its election victory.
Acting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appealed to the international community not to legitimize a Palestinian government led by Hamas, saying elections are not a "whitewash" for terrorist groups.
He said Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last summer opened a window of opportunity in peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. With the election of Hamas, she said, "the Palestinians slammed it shut."
A Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, said the group had no immediate plans to recognize Israel.
"Why we are going to recognize Israel? Why? Is Israel ready to recognize the right of return for Palestinian people? Is Israel ready to recognize an independent (Palestinian) state, including Jerusalem?" asked Zahar, an incoming Hamas parliamentarian in Gaza. "We (will) not recognize anybody on the expense of our national interest."
Two polls published Friday in Israeli newspapers showed strong support among Israelis for talking to a Palestinian government led by Hamas.
But acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quickly ruled out talks.
"The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if even part of it is an armed terrorist organization calling for the destruction of the state of Israel," Olmert said.
President Bush and European leaders said Hamas must renounce violence and drop its demand to destroy Israel.
"If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace, and we're interested in peace," Bush said.
U.S. Consul-General Jacob Walles in Jerusalem said the United States would halt aid to Palestinians should a Hamas-led government come to power and not renounce terror.
The U.S. gave the Palestinian Authority $400 million in direct aid last year and several million more through U.N. charities, Walles said. Some of the money was handed directly to Palestinian ministries.
"I don't see how we would do that if those ministries were controlled by Hamas," he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet in London on Monday with U.N., Russian and European leaders as the so-called "Quartet" of would-be international peacemakers evaluates the results and tries to decide how to proceed.
Ismail Haniyeh, another Hamas leader, said he had asked Abbas to meet Sunday to discuss forming a new government. Abbas' office said no appointment has been made yet, and Abbas said separately he would ask Hamas to lead the next government.
Fatah, turned out of office by Palestinians angry over its corrupt and inefficient government, offered no help to Hamas, catapulted into leadership in its first foray into parliamentary politics.
Fatah leaders decided late Thursday not to enter a joint government with Hamas.
Hamas does not need Fatah to form a government — it won 76 of the 132 seats in parliament, a clear majority. Fatah, the undisputed ruler of Palestinian politics for four decades, got only 43. But Fatah could help Hamas by serving as a a conduit for talks with Israel.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia of Fatah and his Cabinet resigned Thursday to make room for a Hamas government.
In Gaza, about 1,000 angry party activists, including 100 gunmen, demanded the resignation of Fatah leaders. They drove by Abbas' residence, although he was not home at the time.
"We don't want to join the Hamas government! We don't want corrupt leadership! We want reform and we want to fire all the corrupt!" thousands chanted outside a Palestinian government building in Gaza City.
Thousands of Fatah supporters had marched in Gaza City earlier, shooting into the air and demanding that Fatah leaders resign, while backing their decision to stay out of a Hamas government.
Minor incidents marred an otherwise peaceful political revolution. A large crowd of Hamas supporters clashed briefly Thursday with Fatah loyalists outside the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah, with both sides throwing stones after Fatah activists pulled a Hamas flag from the building.
On Friday, three people were injured as an argument between about 20 Hamas and Fatah loyalists degenerated into gunfire and rock-throwing.
In Syria, a prominent Hamas leader pledged to continue resistance against Israeli occupation, although he did not specify if that meant violent opposition, and he stressed that the group would not yet recognize the Jewish state.
"As long as there is occupation and so long as our people's rights are usurped, our stand will remain as it is. We would resist the (Israeli) occupation to restore our rights," Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas movement, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Hamas ideology does not recognize the presence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East. In recent years, however, some Hamas leaders have grudgingly accepted the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, as long as it is understood to be only a stage toward freeing all of Palestine — including Israel.
Meeting with reporters, Livni said she spoke to several foreign ministers and told them of the need to send "a very clear, unequivocal message ... that elections are not a whitewash for terror."
"In these talks, I also made clear what was decided in the consultation with the acting prime minister, that Hamas cannot be a partner of Israel and the fact that it will lead the Palestinian Authority, if indeed this is what will happen, this means the Palestinian Authority also cannot be a partner, in the eyes of Israel and the whole world," she said.
Avi Dichter, a former Israeli security services chief, said he didn't expect terrorism to rise once Hamas takes over.
"The moment they become partner to the Palestinian government, reality will become a lot more complicated for them than it was when they were a terror organization alone," Dichter told Army Radio.
Hamas leaders themselves have hinted that despite their hard-line ideology, they will be pragmatic and not disrupt daily life in the territories.
Economic constraints are also likely to curb Hamas' extremism. With the Palestinian Authority dependent on foreign aid for its survival and on Israel for day-to-day needs such as electricity, water and the movement of people and goods, Hamas will have a hard time ignoring international calls to renounce violence.
Former President Carter told the AP that Washington should increase its donations to U.N. and other aid groups earmarked for the Palestinians to make up for the cut in direct aid "so that the people can still continue to have food and shelter and health care and education."
Carter met Friday with Abbas, who told him that the Palestinian Authority did not even have enough money to pay salaries at the end of the month, even with foreign aid.
If aid is cut off, "it would create an element of chaos unless the money is made up by other sources," he said. "If the Arab countries come through and the European countries continue to help and maybe Japan, they could continue to operate."
A poll conducted Thursday and published in the Maariv daily said 40 percent of Israelis say there should be talks with Hamas if it renounces its determination to destroy Israel. Another 27 percent say talks should be held with no conditions, based on the "road map" peace plan.
The poll showed 29 percent of Israelis favored cutting off all contacts with the Palestinians, freezing talks and resuming targeted killings of Hamas leaders. The poll of 552 people had a 4.2 percentage-point margin of error.
A poll in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper showed that 48 percent of those questioned by the Dahaf Research Institute said Israel should negotiate with Hamas, while 43 percent said Israel should shun a Hamas-led government.
The poll of 500 people had a 4.5 percentage point margin of error and was conducted Wednesday night, before Hamas' election victory was announced.