From JPost, 29 April 2011, by KHALED ABU TOAMEH:
No matter how one looks at it, the Palestinian reconciliation deal is a victory for Hamas.
...Moreover, the timing could not have been better for Hamas.
The Egyptian-sponsored deal came amid signs that Hamas was beginning to lose its grip on the Gaza Strip, as a result of the continued blockade and boycott by the international community.
Last month, thousands of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Hamas security forces for the first time since the movement seized control over the entire Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.
Many Palestinians, including Fatah, said that the confrontations reflected increased resentment of Hamas.
But the unity deal with Fatah will now help Hamas reassert its authority over the Gaza Strip. It will also help Hamas emerge from political isolation by turning it into a legitimate and key player in the international arena.
One of the biggest achievements for Hamas is the fact that the unity deal does not require it to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip. In fact, Hamas would be permitted to keep its security forces in the Gaza Strip, further tightening its grip on the area.
Nor does the deal require Hamas to accept the Middle East peace process or accept the two-state solution.
Hamas will be brought into the unity government as an equal partner.
Until a few days ago, Hamas and Fatah were detaining and torturing each other’s supporters.
For the past three-and-a-half years, security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad worked round the clock to eliminate Hamas’s presence in the West Bank.
Under the terms of the reconciliation accord, Fatah will have to release all “political detainees” belonging to Hamas. This will only help Hamas regain its strength in the West Bank.
The deal also allows Hamas to run again unconditionally in elections, as was the case in the 2006 parliamentary vote. There’s no guarantee that Hamas would not win again in the next elections, which are expected to take place within a year.
Hamas has been recognized as a legitimate partner and player not only by Fatah, but also by the most populous Arab country, Egypt.
The popular uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office earlier this year has been nothing but a blessing for Hamas. The new Egyptian regime has since been working to improve its ties with Hamas through a series of goodwill gestures that include the reopening of the Rafah border crossing and permitting the movement to have its own “representative office” in Cairo.
Although some Palestinians remained skeptical about the prospects of the unity deal holding for a long period of time, many agreed that Hamas stood to benefit the most from the agreement.
See this TIP Timeline of Terror Attacks by Hamas Since Israel’s 2005 Gaza Withdrawal.
Showing posts with label Fatah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatah. Show all posts
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
PM Netanyahu responds to the Palestinian Authority-Hamas agreement
From the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 April 2011 (Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser):
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening (Wednesday), 27 April 2011, referred to the anticipated agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening (Wednesday), 27 April 2011, referred to the anticipated agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas:
"The Palestinian Authority needs to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. Peace with both is impossible because Hamas aspires to destroy the State of Israel and says so openly. It fires missiles at our cities; it fires anti-tank rockets at our children.
I think that the very idea of this reconciliation shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority and causes one to wonder if Hamas will seize control of Judea and Samaria like it seized control of the Gaza Strip.
I hope that the Palestinian Authority chooses correctly, i.e. that it chooses peace with Israel. The choice is in its hands."
Hamas and Fatah try reconciliation (again)
From Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2011, by Kristen Chick, Correspondent:
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah say they've agreed to end a four-year rift. If the agreement holds, it could pave the way for the first Palestinian elections since 2006 and end a period of simmering hostilities...
In a deal brokered by Egypt, the two sides agreed in principle to form an interim government made up of “independents” and to hold elections in a year, officials said at a press conference. Officials said they would formally ink the deal within weeks.
... Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have watched regional revolutions and held small protests against their own leaders, whom they see as unaccountable and corrupt. They've also urged the factions to put aside their differences for the sake of creating a Palestinian state. That has dragged Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas's Khaled Mashaal back to the negotiating table.
Yet many observers are skeptical that the deal will hold, particularly when its comes to implementation.
“Looking at the past four years, at the lack of trust, the lack of confidence, the incitement on both sides, it makes every reasonable person question whether this will be implemented on the ground,” says Mkhaimer Abusada, political science professor at Al Azhar University in Gaza...
Schism developed in 2007
The schism between Hamas and Fatah opened in 2007, when Hamas wrested control of Gaza from Fatah in a bloody conflict. Since then, Fatah has controlled the West Bank and Hamas has ruled Gaza. The divide has complicated efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Egypt, under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, tried unsuccessfully for years to bring the two Palestinian factions together. Some Hamas officials were skeptical he was an honest broker however, since Mubarak detested their movement, an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood...
The quick success of the new government in brokering a deal will be a source of pride for Egypt, whose regional influence has declined....
Israel and the US, however...have said in the past they will not recognize a Palestinian government that includes the Islamist organization unless Hamas first renounces violence and recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the agreement. “The Palestinian Authority must choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas. Peace with both is not possible,” he said.
Officials in Cairo tried to head off a confrontation with Israel, implying the interim government would be made up of technocrats and not factional figures. They also said they had agreed on security cooperation, a key area in the ongoing dispute, but did not go into detail. Mr. Abusada said the agreement stipulated that Hamas would remain in control of security in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank until new elections are held and the government restructures the security apparatus. Hamas’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, has rejected laying down arms or giving control of security to the very forces they fought fiercely in 2007.
...Hamas ...with a more neutral arbiter in the new Egyptian government, essentially ran out of excuses not to agree, says Emad Gad, an analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.
Gad says the upheaval currently under way in Syria, which hosts Hamas’s politburo, was likely a factor pushing the organization to the table. And it also couldn’t ignore the impatience of Gazans, who were tired of living under the blockade Israel imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. As the wave of protests swept the region, Gazans organized protests of their own against Hamas, which were swiftly put down by Hamas security forces.
But the initial signs on the ground in Gaza were not positive, says Abusada. When Gazans went to a central Gaza City square to celebrate the announcement, they were dispersed by baton-wielding Hamas policemen. “That makes me wonder whether Hamas on the ground and Al Qassam is going to accept this and is ready to implement it,” he says.
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah say they've agreed to end a four-year rift. If the agreement holds, it could pave the way for the first Palestinian elections since 2006 and end a period of simmering hostilities...
In a deal brokered by Egypt, the two sides agreed in principle to form an interim government made up of “independents” and to hold elections in a year, officials said at a press conference. Officials said they would formally ink the deal within weeks.
... Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have watched regional revolutions and held small protests against their own leaders, whom they see as unaccountable and corrupt. They've also urged the factions to put aside their differences for the sake of creating a Palestinian state. That has dragged Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas's Khaled Mashaal back to the negotiating table.
Yet many observers are skeptical that the deal will hold, particularly when its comes to implementation.
“Looking at the past four years, at the lack of trust, the lack of confidence, the incitement on both sides, it makes every reasonable person question whether this will be implemented on the ground,” says Mkhaimer Abusada, political science professor at Al Azhar University in Gaza...
Schism developed in 2007
The schism between Hamas and Fatah opened in 2007, when Hamas wrested control of Gaza from Fatah in a bloody conflict. Since then, Fatah has controlled the West Bank and Hamas has ruled Gaza. The divide has complicated efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Egypt, under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, tried unsuccessfully for years to bring the two Palestinian factions together. Some Hamas officials were skeptical he was an honest broker however, since Mubarak detested their movement, an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood...
The quick success of the new government in brokering a deal will be a source of pride for Egypt, whose regional influence has declined....
Israel and the US, however...have said in the past they will not recognize a Palestinian government that includes the Islamist organization unless Hamas first renounces violence and recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the agreement. “The Palestinian Authority must choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas. Peace with both is not possible,” he said.
Officials in Cairo tried to head off a confrontation with Israel, implying the interim government would be made up of technocrats and not factional figures. They also said they had agreed on security cooperation, a key area in the ongoing dispute, but did not go into detail. Mr. Abusada said the agreement stipulated that Hamas would remain in control of security in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank until new elections are held and the government restructures the security apparatus. Hamas’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, has rejected laying down arms or giving control of security to the very forces they fought fiercely in 2007.
...Hamas ...with a more neutral arbiter in the new Egyptian government, essentially ran out of excuses not to agree, says Emad Gad, an analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.
Gad says the upheaval currently under way in Syria, which hosts Hamas’s politburo, was likely a factor pushing the organization to the table. And it also couldn’t ignore the impatience of Gazans, who were tired of living under the blockade Israel imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. As the wave of protests swept the region, Gazans organized protests of their own against Hamas, which were swiftly put down by Hamas security forces.
But the initial signs on the ground in Gaza were not positive, says Abusada. When Gazans went to a central Gaza City square to celebrate the announcement, they were dispersed by baton-wielding Hamas policemen. “That makes me wonder whether Hamas on the ground and Al Qassam is going to accept this and is ready to implement it,” he says.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Advice for George Mitchell
From The New Republic, 21/1/09, by Martyy Peretz:
George Mitchell ...the special envoy to Israel and to...well, how does one tell who can represent the Palestinians in peace talks?
Mitchell has been very clear that there is no purpose in negotiations with parties which don't want peace. So this leaves us with Fatah whose certified terrorist history outranks the Tamil Tigers, the Basque ETA and several other fraternal Muslim killer organizations altogether. And whose commitment to an arrangement continues to be -- shall we say? -- a bit suspect.
Still, Fatah, which has run the Palestinian Authority ..is clearly the more "moderate" of the Palestinian irridentist forces, and its words -- of course, not to its people, but to world diplomats and Israelis -- are civil. It's not a sound basis for trust. But if you can't trust Mahmoud Abbas you can trust no Palestinian leader.
...Oh, one other query about Fatah: Can it win an election in the West Bank? Perhaps. It is still, however, unbelievably corrupt and inefficient. It is also probably tarnished by its quotidian ties to Israel. And, after all, from the point of view of reasonable Palestinians of which there are some, Fatah was the political party that gave up a real state in the West Bank to assuage the demonic "from the river to the sea" delusions of Yassir Arafat. On the other hand, there was little turmoil in the West Bank while the I.D.F. was bombing in Gaza.
And, then, there is Hamas. It entrapped the people of Gaza in a war it provoked. Relentless rocketry and missiles, utterly relentless, many thousands of them over almost eight years. What did Hamas or the subjects of its tyranny think Israel would do? Let the torment mount day in, day out? This war was perfectly proper because it struck at the Hamas military machine. That this machine was fused with civil life is not the responsibility of Israel. But let's face stark facts: many Gaza "civilians" were also happy with this fusion. Victims, yes, but also fools.
The delirium of Palestinian politics is also a stark fact ...Many Palestinians and most in the Palestinian leadership believe they can whittle Israel down to size without they themselves having to whittle down their ambitions. This delirium also translates into the assumption that losing a military confrontation or, in fact, a war has no consequences. Hamas may launch another of their suicidal battles. This one won't last a day.
George Mitchell came into the region almost nine years ago. He's an even-handed man. I myself can't grasp how one can be even-handed between political gangsters like Hamas and Israel. Unless, that is, one is willing to be even-handed between the Taliban and its antagonists, which I don't think Mitchell is prepared to be. And certainly not Barack Obama. And if I am wrong God have mercy on our collective soul.
So one of the questions that Mitchell must address first is whether Hamas is really fooling when it says it seeks the elimination of the Jewish state and, secondly, whether Fatah is really willing to live with a Jewish state. I'm afraid that a truthful evaluation is likely to disappoint him quite a lot....
...Mitchell should understand, however, that Israel's security and peace is not a matter for barter in the Arab market.
George Mitchell ...the special envoy to Israel and to...well, how does one tell who can represent the Palestinians in peace talks?
Mitchell has been very clear that there is no purpose in negotiations with parties which don't want peace. So this leaves us with Fatah whose certified terrorist history outranks the Tamil Tigers, the Basque ETA and several other fraternal Muslim killer organizations altogether. And whose commitment to an arrangement continues to be -- shall we say? -- a bit suspect.
Still, Fatah, which has run the Palestinian Authority ..is clearly the more "moderate" of the Palestinian irridentist forces, and its words -- of course, not to its people, but to world diplomats and Israelis -- are civil. It's not a sound basis for trust. But if you can't trust Mahmoud Abbas you can trust no Palestinian leader.
...Oh, one other query about Fatah: Can it win an election in the West Bank? Perhaps. It is still, however, unbelievably corrupt and inefficient. It is also probably tarnished by its quotidian ties to Israel. And, after all, from the point of view of reasonable Palestinians of which there are some, Fatah was the political party that gave up a real state in the West Bank to assuage the demonic "from the river to the sea" delusions of Yassir Arafat. On the other hand, there was little turmoil in the West Bank while the I.D.F. was bombing in Gaza.
And, then, there is Hamas. It entrapped the people of Gaza in a war it provoked. Relentless rocketry and missiles, utterly relentless, many thousands of them over almost eight years. What did Hamas or the subjects of its tyranny think Israel would do? Let the torment mount day in, day out? This war was perfectly proper because it struck at the Hamas military machine. That this machine was fused with civil life is not the responsibility of Israel. But let's face stark facts: many Gaza "civilians" were also happy with this fusion. Victims, yes, but also fools.
The delirium of Palestinian politics is also a stark fact ...Many Palestinians and most in the Palestinian leadership believe they can whittle Israel down to size without they themselves having to whittle down their ambitions. This delirium also translates into the assumption that losing a military confrontation or, in fact, a war has no consequences. Hamas may launch another of their suicidal battles. This one won't last a day.
George Mitchell came into the region almost nine years ago. He's an even-handed man. I myself can't grasp how one can be even-handed between political gangsters like Hamas and Israel. Unless, that is, one is willing to be even-handed between the Taliban and its antagonists, which I don't think Mitchell is prepared to be. And certainly not Barack Obama. And if I am wrong God have mercy on our collective soul.
So one of the questions that Mitchell must address first is whether Hamas is really fooling when it says it seeks the elimination of the Jewish state and, secondly, whether Fatah is really willing to live with a Jewish state. I'm afraid that a truthful evaluation is likely to disappoint him quite a lot....
...Mitchell should understand, however, that Israel's security and peace is not a matter for barter in the Arab market.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Fatah Attacked by Hamas
From The New York Times, January 22, 2009, by SABRINA TAVERNISE:
GAZA CITY ... Men from Hamas have begun to assault people they suspect of supporting its chief political rival, Fatah....
...Fatah accused Hamas of harassing and harming its members in the Gaza Strip.
Yasser Abd Rabbo, an ally of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said at a news conference in Ramallah on Thursday that Hamas had “turned its rifles in the direction of Fatah members” after Israel stopped its military offensive on Sunday. Mr. Rabbo accused Hamas of placing Fatah supporters under house arrest and shooting some of them in the legs, an intimidation tactic that it used in the past.
...members of Fatah contend that Hamas has begun harassing Fatah supporters to reassert its authority in Gaza. The hopes of Mr. Abbas and Egypt for the creation of a unity government that would bring together the two rival groups could be undermined by reprisals.
...A Palestinian human rights worker, who was granted anonymity because of the delicacy of the topic and the preliminary nature of his findings, said he had received reports of about 30 cases of abuse, including as many as five killings. He said he had not yet been able to verify each case.
[A man] said in an interview that he had been forced into a car by three men wearing masks while he was walking to his cousin’s house at dusk on Sunday. The men accused him of being happy that Israel had attacked Hamas, and they took him to the prime minister’s palace, which had been destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, he said. There they shot both of his legs just under the knee.
“It hurt like fire,” he said, pulling up the legs of his sweatpants to display thick bandages soaked with blood. He crawled to the road, he said, and someone gave him a ride to the hospital.
The motive for the shooting was not clear. The man said that he was a shoemaker and that he supported Fatah, but was not formally a member. The real target, he said, may have been his cousin, who is an activist in Fatah.
Some Fatah members said in interviews that some of those being sought had been singled out for having handed out sweets in celebration of Israel’s war on Hamas.
Nor was it clear how widespread the attacks were. Mr. Rabbo, the ally of the Palestinian president, said 200 people had been harassed and abused, but the human rights worker estimated that the number was much lower.
Many Fatah members and supporters said in interviews that Hamas might feel somewhat weakened by the Israeli offensive and was concerned that its political rivals not take advantage of the disorder created by the war.
The Palestinian human rights worker shared that view. “The internal security department is sending a very clear and strong message to Fatah to be quiet,” he said.
The shoemaker’s cousin, who actively supports Fatah, said that he had been moving from house to house after Hamas members searched his home on Sunday while he was out.“They’re afraid that Fatah will take advantage of the chaos to come back to power,” the cousin said. “The message is: Stay at home. Be afraid. We didn’t lose power.”
...Several people said Hamas had given children cellphone credits to keep tabs on them. They are called “drones,” and when they pass, everyone knows to stop talking, said a man in Bureij, a town south of Gaza City, who said he had been told by local Hamas supporters to stay inside his house....
GAZA CITY ... Men from Hamas have begun to assault people they suspect of supporting its chief political rival, Fatah....
...Fatah accused Hamas of harassing and harming its members in the Gaza Strip.
Yasser Abd Rabbo, an ally of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said at a news conference in Ramallah on Thursday that Hamas had “turned its rifles in the direction of Fatah members” after Israel stopped its military offensive on Sunday. Mr. Rabbo accused Hamas of placing Fatah supporters under house arrest and shooting some of them in the legs, an intimidation tactic that it used in the past.
...members of Fatah contend that Hamas has begun harassing Fatah supporters to reassert its authority in Gaza. The hopes of Mr. Abbas and Egypt for the creation of a unity government that would bring together the two rival groups could be undermined by reprisals.
...A Palestinian human rights worker, who was granted anonymity because of the delicacy of the topic and the preliminary nature of his findings, said he had received reports of about 30 cases of abuse, including as many as five killings. He said he had not yet been able to verify each case.
[A man] said in an interview that he had been forced into a car by three men wearing masks while he was walking to his cousin’s house at dusk on Sunday. The men accused him of being happy that Israel had attacked Hamas, and they took him to the prime minister’s palace, which had been destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, he said. There they shot both of his legs just under the knee.
“It hurt like fire,” he said, pulling up the legs of his sweatpants to display thick bandages soaked with blood. He crawled to the road, he said, and someone gave him a ride to the hospital.
The motive for the shooting was not clear. The man said that he was a shoemaker and that he supported Fatah, but was not formally a member. The real target, he said, may have been his cousin, who is an activist in Fatah.
Some Fatah members said in interviews that some of those being sought had been singled out for having handed out sweets in celebration of Israel’s war on Hamas.
Nor was it clear how widespread the attacks were. Mr. Rabbo, the ally of the Palestinian president, said 200 people had been harassed and abused, but the human rights worker estimated that the number was much lower.
Many Fatah members and supporters said in interviews that Hamas might feel somewhat weakened by the Israeli offensive and was concerned that its political rivals not take advantage of the disorder created by the war.
The Palestinian human rights worker shared that view. “The internal security department is sending a very clear and strong message to Fatah to be quiet,” he said.
The shoemaker’s cousin, who actively supports Fatah, said that he had been moving from house to house after Hamas members searched his home on Sunday while he was out.“They’re afraid that Fatah will take advantage of the chaos to come back to power,” the cousin said. “The message is: Stay at home. Be afraid. We didn’t lose power.”
...Several people said Hamas had given children cellphone credits to keep tabs on them. They are called “drones,” and when they pass, everyone knows to stop talking, said a man in Bureij, a town south of Gaza City, who said he had been told by local Hamas supporters to stay inside his house....
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Senegal launches mediation efforts between Hamas, Fatah
From Ynet News, 7/6/08, with contributions from AP and Reuters News agencies:
Representatives of warring Palestinian factions meet with Senegalese president less than week after Hamas said it welcomed Fatah's 'renewed spirit' of dialogue. Meanwhile Hamas claims responsibility for number of terror attacks between 2002-2005
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has begun talks with representatives of Hamas and Fatah, hoping to establish common ground in the Palestinian factions' approach to Israel, Senegalese state media reported on Saturday.
... The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Thursday he welcomed what he called a "new spirit" of dialogue in a keynote speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.
However, aides to Abbas rejected suggestions the Palestinian president had taken a warmer tone to his Hamas Islamist opponents, and insisted his call for "a national and comprehensive dialogue" with Hamas concerned only implementation of a recent Yemeni diplomatic initiative.
That initiative called for Hamas to give up its hold on Gaza.
Hamas says responsible for murder of 26 Israelis
Hamas has claimed belated responsibility for a string of attacks in Israel carried out several years ago. A Hamas web site lists nine attacks that killed 26 Israelis from 2002 until 2005. Other Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for some of those attacks at the time.
Hamas says it kept quiet about its role until now for security reasons. The web site says all the attackers came from the West Bank. It's not immediately clear whether Hamas really did commit all of those attacks. But the announcement suggests they want to emphasize its role in the West Bank.
Representatives of warring Palestinian factions meet with Senegalese president less than week after Hamas said it welcomed Fatah's 'renewed spirit' of dialogue. Meanwhile Hamas claims responsibility for number of terror attacks between 2002-2005
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has begun talks with representatives of Hamas and Fatah, hoping to establish common ground in the Palestinian factions' approach to Israel, Senegalese state media reported on Saturday.
... The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Thursday he welcomed what he called a "new spirit" of dialogue in a keynote speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.
However, aides to Abbas rejected suggestions the Palestinian president had taken a warmer tone to his Hamas Islamist opponents, and insisted his call for "a national and comprehensive dialogue" with Hamas concerned only implementation of a recent Yemeni diplomatic initiative.
That initiative called for Hamas to give up its hold on Gaza.
Hamas says responsible for murder of 26 Israelis
Hamas has claimed belated responsibility for a string of attacks in Israel carried out several years ago. A Hamas web site lists nine attacks that killed 26 Israelis from 2002 until 2005. Other Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for some of those attacks at the time.
Hamas says it kept quiet about its role until now for security reasons. The web site says all the attackers came from the West Bank. It's not immediately clear whether Hamas really did commit all of those attacks. But the announcement suggests they want to emphasize its role in the West Bank.
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