28 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
The Palestinian Authority' security apparatus has not halted the
campaign of arrests of Hamas supporters across the occupied West Bank,
despite the signing the reconciliation agreement in Gaza four days ago.
In Tulkarm, the General Intelligence Service re-arrested Alaa
Kharyosh after he was summoned for questioning on Saturday. Kharyosh is
the brother of Mohammed Kharyosh, who was detained a month and a half
ago.
In Hebron, the Preventive Security Service (PSS) summoned 27-year-old
Taha Mohamed Shalaldeh from the town of Sa'ir north of Hebron on
Tuesday. Shalaldeh is a former political prisoner. He spent more than 19
months in PSS prisons.
In Salfit on Saturday, a force from the General Intelligence Service
raided the home of the freed prisoner Mohammed Hamada Al-Diek, 37, from
the town of Kafr Al-Diek, in a failed attempt to arrest him. At the same
time, the force raided and searched the homes of his relatives.
Al-Diek has been arrested numerous times by PA security services in the West Bank.
The PA's intelligence in Salfit also arrested the freed prisoner Osama Shaheen, 42; he was a former political prisoner.
In Jenin on Friday evening the PA's security apparatus attacked a
motorcade of vehicles belonging to civilians who were celebrating the
exit of a wounded resident from the hospital. He had been injured amid
the assassination of Ezzeddin Al-Qassam's Abu Hamza Al-Hija and his two
companions.
Local sources reported that dozens of residents' vehicles welcomed
Mahmoud Abu Kamel, 22, after he completed his treatment in Nablus; he
had been shot by occupation forces in the Jenin refugee camp about a
month ago.
The sources said the residents were attacked by elements of the PA
security apparatus as soon as they headed to the city of Jenin from the
area of the Shohada Triangle towards the camp. Occupation forces fired
at them, creating tensions between the two parties.
Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/11133-pa-continues-to-arrest-hamas-supporters-despite-reconciliation-agreement.
Showing posts with label Fatah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatah. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Fatah welcomes Al-Sisi decision to run for president
27 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
Palestinian Secular movement Fatah hailed the decision of the Egyptian military-coup leader Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi to run for presidential elections, a statement issued today said.
Deputy Secretary of Fatah's Executive Committee Jibrel Al-Rajoub said in the statement: "We welcome Abdul-Fatah Al-Sisi's decision to run for the upcoming presidential elections. We affirm that he is able to regain Egypt's prestige in the region."
Al-Rajoub claimed Al-Sisi has regained Egypt's regional role and that afforded "national guarantees for Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims". He acknowledged that Al-Sisi has maintained Egypt's unity since the ouster of the freely elected president Mohammed Morsi.
Fatah's prominent leader continued: "We believe in his regional vision, through which he is able to lead Egypt to stability...and will help the Egyptians and the Palestinians to encounter the Israeli occupation at this critical time."
He stressed that the Egyptian people's democratic choice should be respected in the upcoming elections. That, Al-Rajoub said, would help build modern Egypt, which would be protected by the Egyptian people and their "great army".
"We are looking forward a freely elected Egyptian president who will be able to protect Egypt and regain its leading role in the region as a leader for the Arab nation," he said.
Al-Sisi carried out a coup d'état against Morsi on July 3, 2013. Since then he has supressed the Egyptians who refused the coup and killed more than 5,000.
Since the coup, crowds of Egyptians have taken to the streets everyday to protest against the coup. Egyptian authorities have now enacted a law against protesters and held mass trials against anti-coup nationals.
Earlier this week, an Egyptian court sentenced 529 Egyptians who were against the coup to death for claims that they took part in killing a policeman. The trial lasted two days.
Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10548-fatah-welcomes-al-sisi-decision-to-run-for-president.
Source: Middle East Monitor
Palestinian Secular movement Fatah hailed the decision of the Egyptian military-coup leader Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi to run for presidential elections, a statement issued today said.
Deputy Secretary of Fatah's Executive Committee Jibrel Al-Rajoub said in the statement: "We welcome Abdul-Fatah Al-Sisi's decision to run for the upcoming presidential elections. We affirm that he is able to regain Egypt's prestige in the region."
Al-Rajoub claimed Al-Sisi has regained Egypt's regional role and that afforded "national guarantees for Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims". He acknowledged that Al-Sisi has maintained Egypt's unity since the ouster of the freely elected president Mohammed Morsi.
Fatah's prominent leader continued: "We believe in his regional vision, through which he is able to lead Egypt to stability...and will help the Egyptians and the Palestinians to encounter the Israeli occupation at this critical time."
He stressed that the Egyptian people's democratic choice should be respected in the upcoming elections. That, Al-Rajoub said, would help build modern Egypt, which would be protected by the Egyptian people and their "great army".
"We are looking forward a freely elected Egyptian president who will be able to protect Egypt and regain its leading role in the region as a leader for the Arab nation," he said.
Al-Sisi carried out a coup d'état against Morsi on July 3, 2013. Since then he has supressed the Egyptians who refused the coup and killed more than 5,000.
Since the coup, crowds of Egyptians have taken to the streets everyday to protest against the coup. Egyptian authorities have now enacted a law against protesters and held mass trials against anti-coup nationals.
Earlier this week, an Egyptian court sentenced 529 Egyptians who were against the coup to death for claims that they took part in killing a policeman. The trial lasted two days.
Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/10548-fatah-welcomes-al-sisi-decision-to-run-for-president.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Hamas sets new terms for reconciliation with Fatah
Feb 23, 2012
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Source:Reuters
(Reuters) - Hamas has set new terms for implementing a reconciliation deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rival Fatah group, an official said Thursday, dimming even further chances the accord will be put into effect.
Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political chief in exile, agreed in Qatar earlier this month to form a unity government led by the Western-backed president.
But in a rift with the Islamist group's leadership outside the Gaza Strip, officials in the Hamas-ruled enclave swiftly criticized the accord, particularly its call for Abbas to serve as prime minister as well as president.
At an internal meeting chaired by Meshaal in Cairo on Wednesday, Hamas officials united behind new demands, said a Palestinian official involved in the talks. The terms seemed certain to be rejected by Abbas.
"Hamas demanded to keep the key ministries in the new government, including the ministry of interior," said the official. "It also demanded no change in the structure of security services in the Gaza Strip."
The interior ministry oversees the Hamas-run security services, and Palestinian political analyst Samir Awad said the new terms proved the group "was not prepared to abandon control of Gaza," territory it seized from Fatah in fighting in 2007.
Abbas has been seeking a unity government staffed by independents and technocrats to ensure it would not be boycotted by the West, which donates essential funds to his Palestinian Authority and refuses to deal with Hamas over it hostility toward Israel.
Other demands that emerged from the Cairo meeting included naming a Gaza-based deputy to Abbas and making his appointment as prime minister conditional on a vote of confidence in the Palestinian parliament.
The legislature has not been in session since the collapse five years ago of a short-lived Palestinian unity government.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Source:Reuters
(Reuters) - Hamas has set new terms for implementing a reconciliation deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rival Fatah group, an official said Thursday, dimming even further chances the accord will be put into effect.
Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political chief in exile, agreed in Qatar earlier this month to form a unity government led by the Western-backed president.
But in a rift with the Islamist group's leadership outside the Gaza Strip, officials in the Hamas-ruled enclave swiftly criticized the accord, particularly its call for Abbas to serve as prime minister as well as president.
At an internal meeting chaired by Meshaal in Cairo on Wednesday, Hamas officials united behind new demands, said a Palestinian official involved in the talks. The terms seemed certain to be rejected by Abbas.
"Hamas demanded to keep the key ministries in the new government, including the ministry of interior," said the official. "It also demanded no change in the structure of security services in the Gaza Strip."
The interior ministry oversees the Hamas-run security services, and Palestinian political analyst Samir Awad said the new terms proved the group "was not prepared to abandon control of Gaza," territory it seized from Fatah in fighting in 2007.
Abbas has been seeking a unity government staffed by independents and technocrats to ensure it would not be boycotted by the West, which donates essential funds to his Palestinian Authority and refuses to deal with Hamas over it hostility toward Israel.
Other demands that emerged from the Cairo meeting included naming a Gaza-based deputy to Abbas and making his appointment as prime minister conditional on a vote of confidence in the Palestinian parliament.
The legislature has not been in session since the collapse five years ago of a short-lived Palestinian unity government.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Hamas MPs call for scrapping of Fatah deal
Feb 8, 2012
By Mahmud Hams | AFP
Source:Yahoo News Maktoob
MPs of the Hamas majority in the Palestinian parliament called on Thursday for the scrapping of a reconciliation accord with Fatah on constitutional grounds.
"After examining the question of Mahmud Abbas taking on the premiership as well as the presidency" and consultation with judicial experts, such a scenario was found to be contrary to the Basic Law, 31 MPs said in a statement.
It said after a meeting in parliament in Gaza City that the Basic Law calls for separation of the two posts, in contrast to Fatah which denies any violation of the law.
"On this basis, we call for all the signatory parties and the sponsor of the Palestinian reconciliation to reconsider and to respect the Basic Law," said the MPs of the Islamist movement which holds 74 seats in the 132-member parliament
Palestinian president Abbas, who also heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal signed an accord in Doha on Monday placing Abbas at the head of an interim consensus government to supervise the run-up to elections.
The deal was hailed as a compromise after a bitter dispute over who would head the temporary government that had stalled a reconciliation deal signed by all Palestinian factions in April and May 2011.
By Mahmud Hams | AFP
Source:Yahoo News Maktoob
MPs of the Hamas majority in the Palestinian parliament called on Thursday for the scrapping of a reconciliation accord with Fatah on constitutional grounds.
"After examining the question of Mahmud Abbas taking on the premiership as well as the presidency" and consultation with judicial experts, such a scenario was found to be contrary to the Basic Law, 31 MPs said in a statement.
It said after a meeting in parliament in Gaza City that the Basic Law calls for separation of the two posts, in contrast to Fatah which denies any violation of the law.
"On this basis, we call for all the signatory parties and the sponsor of the Palestinian reconciliation to reconsider and to respect the Basic Law," said the MPs of the Islamist movement which holds 74 seats in the 132-member parliament
Palestinian president Abbas, who also heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal signed an accord in Doha on Monday placing Abbas at the head of an interim consensus government to supervise the run-up to elections.
The deal was hailed as a compromise after a bitter dispute over who would head the temporary government that had stalled a reconciliation deal signed by all Palestinian factions in April and May 2011.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Fatah and Hamas Announce Outline of Deal
April 27, 2011
By ETHAN BRONNER and ISABEL KERSHNER
JERUSALEM — The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, announced Wednesday that they were putting aside years of bitter rivalry to create an interim unity government and hold elections within a year, a surprise move that promised to reshape the diplomatic landscape of the Middle East.
The deal, brokered in secret talks by the caretaker Egyptian government, was announced at a news conference in Cairo where the two negotiators referred to each side as brothers and declared a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for independence, hobbled in recent years by the split between the Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza.
It was the first tangible sign that the upheaval across the Arab world, especially the Egyptian revolution, was having an impact on the Palestinians, who have been losing faith in American-sponsored peace negotiations with Israel and seem now to be turning more to fellow Arabs. But the years of bitterness will not be easily overcome, and both sides warned of potential obstacles ahead.
Israel, feeling increasingly surrounded by unfriendly forces, denounced the unity deal as dooming future peace talks since Hamas seeks its destruction. “The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a televised statement. The Obama administration warned that Hamas was a terrorist organization unfit for peacemaking.
The deal brings with it the risk of alienating the Western support that the Palestinian Authority has enjoyed. Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah negotiator, said that Salam Fayyad, the prime minister in the West Bank who is despised by Hamas, would not be part of the interim government. It is partly because of Mr. Fayyad, and the trust he inspires in Washington, that hundreds of millions of dollars are provided annually to the Palestinian Authority by Congress. Without that aid, the Palestinian Authority would face great difficulties.
The announcement was sure to fuel a debate on whether Mr. Netanyahu had done enough in his two years in power to forge a deal with the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas and Mr. Fayyad, widely considered the most moderate leaders the Palestinians have ever had.
The deal also highlighted Egypt’s evolving foreign policy, its increasing regional influence and the challenges that posed for Israel. The new Egyptian government pursued Palestinian negotiations aggressively; has recognized the Muslim Brotherhood, which has deep ties to Hamas; and is reconsidering a natural gas deal with Israel.
Relations between Fatah, the mainstream secularist movement led by Mr. Abbas, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group, have deteriorated since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006. They ruptured a year later when Hamas seized full control of Gaza, the coastal enclave, after a brief factional war, routing Fatah forces there and limiting the influence of Mr. Abbas and his Palestinian Authority to the West Bank.
A desire for unity has been one goal that ordinary Palestinians in both areas have consistently said they sought. Until now it has proved elusive and leaders of the two factions have spoken of each other in vicious terms and jailed each other’s activists.
But with the Palestinians seeking international recognition of statehood at the United Nations by September, Mr. Abbas has repeatedly said that unity must be restored for a credible case to be made. Other recent developments also played a role.
As Mr. Ahmad said after the news conference in Cairo: “The changes in the Arab region and the political upheaval contributed to reducing the pressure on the Palestinian factions, and by pressure I mean the negative kind of pressure.” He said that he was referring to “the changing rules of the game in the region.”
Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that the Palestinian Authority’s failure to reach an agreement with Israel and the anger following an American veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement construction in February encouraged Fatah to come to an agreement with Hamas. The Islamic group, he said, was motivated to get closer to Fatah by regional changes, especially the protests in Syria, where Hamas’s politburo is based. If President Bashar al-Assad of Syria were to fall, Hamas might no longer be able to use Syria as a base or enjoy the protection, money and arms the country has extended.
“We have ended a painful period in the history of the Palestinian people where Palestinian division had prevailed,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, a representative of Hamas who negotiated the deal, said at the Cairo news conference. “We gave the occupation a great opportunity to expand the settlements because of this division. Today we turn this page and open a new page.”
When he spoke at the news conference, Mr. Ahmad of Fatah recalled the chants of young Palestinian demonstrators mimicking the Tunisian and Egyptian chants: “The people want to bring down the regime.”
“To all the Palestinian youth who went out saying, ‘The people want to end the division’ and ‘The people want to end the occupation,’ we say what you demanded was achieved today,” he said, adding that the period of division had taught both sides “a hard lesson in confronting the occupation.”
He said that Israeli officials had warned Mr. Abbas not to collaborate with Hamas but that “he did not heed the warning, and he responded, ‘Yes, we want Hamas.’ ”
The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has negotiated for a two-state solution with Israel, whereas Hamas says Israel has no right to exist and continues to fire rockets at Israeli towns.
The Palestinian negotiators offered few details of the proposed transitional unity government, saying that it would be composed of neutral professionals and that the leaders of each side would work out details. All the Palestinian factions are to meet next week to sign the agreement.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, told Al Jazeera Television from Cairo the sides had agreed to changes in the interim leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a tribunal for elections and a date for the elections. The P.L.O. excludes Hamas, which has long sought entry.
Hamas and Fatah will together nominate members of the technocratic government and a 12-judge election tribunal. He also said that an agreement was reached to set up an oversight committee to regulate security.
In November, officials from the two movements met in Damascus but failed to reach an agreement because of differences on security. It seemed likely that Fatah security forces, which work closely with the Israeli Army, would continue to rule in the West Bank, and that Hamas security would continue in Gaza with a tacit agreement not to arrest each other’s activists.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down soon after they started last September when an Israeli moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements expired. The international powers have been working to get the sides to resume negotiations, and Mr. Netanyahu has recently been considering making an offer to the Palestinian Authority to try to pre-empt a United Nations vote. He is due to address a joint session of Congress in a month.
But with this latest shift in Palestinian politics, Mr. Netanyahu may also shift tactics. “I think the very idea of the reconciliation shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, and leads one to wonder whether Hamas will take control over Judea and Samaria, as it did over Gaza,” he said in his statement, using the biblical names for the West Bank.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu instructed the Israeli security establishment to take all necessary measures to ensure the enforcement of Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza amid reports of plans for another international flotilla. Mr. Netanyahu met with his senior ministers and security officials and said that diplomatic efforts should continue to prevent the flotilla from setting out.
Last May, Israeli naval commandos raided a flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza and killed nine pro-Palestinian activists on a Turkish vessel after violence broke out. The episode stirred international outrage and caused a crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey.
Source: The New York Times
By ETHAN BRONNER and ISABEL KERSHNER
JERUSALEM — The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, announced Wednesday that they were putting aside years of bitter rivalry to create an interim unity government and hold elections within a year, a surprise move that promised to reshape the diplomatic landscape of the Middle East.
The deal, brokered in secret talks by the caretaker Egyptian government, was announced at a news conference in Cairo where the two negotiators referred to each side as brothers and declared a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for independence, hobbled in recent years by the split between the Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza.
It was the first tangible sign that the upheaval across the Arab world, especially the Egyptian revolution, was having an impact on the Palestinians, who have been losing faith in American-sponsored peace negotiations with Israel and seem now to be turning more to fellow Arabs. But the years of bitterness will not be easily overcome, and both sides warned of potential obstacles ahead.
Israel, feeling increasingly surrounded by unfriendly forces, denounced the unity deal as dooming future peace talks since Hamas seeks its destruction. “The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a televised statement. The Obama administration warned that Hamas was a terrorist organization unfit for peacemaking.
The deal brings with it the risk of alienating the Western support that the Palestinian Authority has enjoyed. Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah negotiator, said that Salam Fayyad, the prime minister in the West Bank who is despised by Hamas, would not be part of the interim government. It is partly because of Mr. Fayyad, and the trust he inspires in Washington, that hundreds of millions of dollars are provided annually to the Palestinian Authority by Congress. Without that aid, the Palestinian Authority would face great difficulties.
The announcement was sure to fuel a debate on whether Mr. Netanyahu had done enough in his two years in power to forge a deal with the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas and Mr. Fayyad, widely considered the most moderate leaders the Palestinians have ever had.
The deal also highlighted Egypt’s evolving foreign policy, its increasing regional influence and the challenges that posed for Israel. The new Egyptian government pursued Palestinian negotiations aggressively; has recognized the Muslim Brotherhood, which has deep ties to Hamas; and is reconsidering a natural gas deal with Israel.
Relations between Fatah, the mainstream secularist movement led by Mr. Abbas, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group, have deteriorated since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006. They ruptured a year later when Hamas seized full control of Gaza, the coastal enclave, after a brief factional war, routing Fatah forces there and limiting the influence of Mr. Abbas and his Palestinian Authority to the West Bank.
A desire for unity has been one goal that ordinary Palestinians in both areas have consistently said they sought. Until now it has proved elusive and leaders of the two factions have spoken of each other in vicious terms and jailed each other’s activists.
But with the Palestinians seeking international recognition of statehood at the United Nations by September, Mr. Abbas has repeatedly said that unity must be restored for a credible case to be made. Other recent developments also played a role.
As Mr. Ahmad said after the news conference in Cairo: “The changes in the Arab region and the political upheaval contributed to reducing the pressure on the Palestinian factions, and by pressure I mean the negative kind of pressure.” He said that he was referring to “the changing rules of the game in the region.”
Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that the Palestinian Authority’s failure to reach an agreement with Israel and the anger following an American veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement construction in February encouraged Fatah to come to an agreement with Hamas. The Islamic group, he said, was motivated to get closer to Fatah by regional changes, especially the protests in Syria, where Hamas’s politburo is based. If President Bashar al-Assad of Syria were to fall, Hamas might no longer be able to use Syria as a base or enjoy the protection, money and arms the country has extended.
“We have ended a painful period in the history of the Palestinian people where Palestinian division had prevailed,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, a representative of Hamas who negotiated the deal, said at the Cairo news conference. “We gave the occupation a great opportunity to expand the settlements because of this division. Today we turn this page and open a new page.”
When he spoke at the news conference, Mr. Ahmad of Fatah recalled the chants of young Palestinian demonstrators mimicking the Tunisian and Egyptian chants: “The people want to bring down the regime.”
“To all the Palestinian youth who went out saying, ‘The people want to end the division’ and ‘The people want to end the occupation,’ we say what you demanded was achieved today,” he said, adding that the period of division had taught both sides “a hard lesson in confronting the occupation.”
He said that Israeli officials had warned Mr. Abbas not to collaborate with Hamas but that “he did not heed the warning, and he responded, ‘Yes, we want Hamas.’ ”
The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has negotiated for a two-state solution with Israel, whereas Hamas says Israel has no right to exist and continues to fire rockets at Israeli towns.
The Palestinian negotiators offered few details of the proposed transitional unity government, saying that it would be composed of neutral professionals and that the leaders of each side would work out details. All the Palestinian factions are to meet next week to sign the agreement.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, told Al Jazeera Television from Cairo the sides had agreed to changes in the interim leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a tribunal for elections and a date for the elections. The P.L.O. excludes Hamas, which has long sought entry.
Hamas and Fatah will together nominate members of the technocratic government and a 12-judge election tribunal. He also said that an agreement was reached to set up an oversight committee to regulate security.
In November, officials from the two movements met in Damascus but failed to reach an agreement because of differences on security. It seemed likely that Fatah security forces, which work closely with the Israeli Army, would continue to rule in the West Bank, and that Hamas security would continue in Gaza with a tacit agreement not to arrest each other’s activists.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down soon after they started last September when an Israeli moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements expired. The international powers have been working to get the sides to resume negotiations, and Mr. Netanyahu has recently been considering making an offer to the Palestinian Authority to try to pre-empt a United Nations vote. He is due to address a joint session of Congress in a month.
But with this latest shift in Palestinian politics, Mr. Netanyahu may also shift tactics. “I think the very idea of the reconciliation shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, and leads one to wonder whether Hamas will take control over Judea and Samaria, as it did over Gaza,” he said in his statement, using the biblical names for the West Bank.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu instructed the Israeli security establishment to take all necessary measures to ensure the enforcement of Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza amid reports of plans for another international flotilla. Mr. Netanyahu met with his senior ministers and security officials and said that diplomatic efforts should continue to prevent the flotilla from setting out.
Last May, Israeli naval commandos raided a flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza and killed nine pro-Palestinian activists on a Turkish vessel after violence broke out. The episode stirred international outrage and caused a crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey.
Source: The New York Times
Monday, October 25, 2010
Fatah: Israel doesn't want peace
25/10/2010 20:48
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Fatah said Monday that Israel's right-wing government 's decision to continue building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories had destroyed any chance for a peace deal.
Ahmad Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said in a statement that there is "nothing worse than what is being practiced against Palestinians by the Israeli occupation, including the closure and siege imposed on Gaza."
Although Israeli leaders suggest they want peace, "they are lying," Assaf said. They have demonstrated their unwillingness to achieve a deal through actions which speak louder than words, he added.
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Fatah said Monday that Israel's right-wing government 's decision to continue building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories had destroyed any chance for a peace deal.
Ahmad Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said in a statement that there is "nothing worse than what is being practiced against Palestinians by the Israeli occupation, including the closure and siege imposed on Gaza."
Although Israeli leaders suggest they want peace, "they are lying," Assaf said. They have demonstrated their unwillingness to achieve a deal through actions which speak louder than words, he added.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Hamas, Fatah slam hardline Netanyahu's speech
Hamas says Israel carrying out Holocaust against Palestinians, PA delegate walks out on Netanyahu speech.
GAZA CITY - Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out a Holocaust against Palestinians, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN General Assembly.
"Israel is the one carrying out a Holocaust against the Palestinians," Sami Abu Zahri, a spokesman for the democratically elected Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Although Israel was created by a UN resolution over 60 years ago, it is known for its defiance of the international community, especially when concerning UN resolutions on it's illegal occupation of Arab land.
The hardliner used his address to the annual meetings of heads of state and government to blast the United Nations for its report criticizing Israel for using excessive force in its assault on the Gaza Strip eight months ago.
He unleashed a tirade against the findings of the UN probe into the Gaza assault, and warned it could affect how Israel reacts in the future towards the Palestinians.
He linked Israel's willingness to make future concessions to the Palestinians, to how other nations react to the report.
While the UN investigation found that both Israel and Palestinian groups had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, it reserved some of its harshest language for the actions taken by Israel against the civilian population in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu also addressed Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, saying again that he would accept a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel, in reference to what is seen by critics as a 'non-State'.
However, he offered no olive branches to the Palestinians and did not refer to calls by the Palestinians and the US to freeze illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem.
A lone Palestinian delegate walked out as Netanyahu defended Israel's December-January assault on the Gaza Strip that killed 1,400 mainly civilian Palestinians.
GAZA CITY - Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out a Holocaust against Palestinians, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN General Assembly.
"Israel is the one carrying out a Holocaust against the Palestinians," Sami Abu Zahri, a spokesman for the democratically elected Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Although Israel was created by a UN resolution over 60 years ago, it is known for its defiance of the international community, especially when concerning UN resolutions on it's illegal occupation of Arab land.
The hardliner used his address to the annual meetings of heads of state and government to blast the United Nations for its report criticizing Israel for using excessive force in its assault on the Gaza Strip eight months ago.
He unleashed a tirade against the findings of the UN probe into the Gaza assault, and warned it could affect how Israel reacts in the future towards the Palestinians.
He linked Israel's willingness to make future concessions to the Palestinians, to how other nations react to the report.
While the UN investigation found that both Israel and Palestinian groups had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, it reserved some of its harshest language for the actions taken by Israel against the civilian population in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu also addressed Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, saying again that he would accept a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel, in reference to what is seen by critics as a 'non-State'.
However, he offered no olive branches to the Palestinians and did not refer to calls by the Palestinians and the US to freeze illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem.
A lone Palestinian delegate walked out as Netanyahu defended Israel's December-January assault on the Gaza Strip that killed 1,400 mainly civilian Palestinians.
Palestinian factions blast Netanyahu UN speech
Palestinians from both Hamas and Fatah factions have criticized the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly as 'bogus and unacceptable'.
"Netanyahu spoke of the Holocaust but Israel committed the largest massacre of the century," Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri, said in reference to Operation Cast Lead which resulted in the death of over 1,500 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,450 people in the impoverished Gaza Strip.
He added the Israeli Prime Minister is seeking to justify the massacres in the blockaded coastal sliver, and that such falsehood cannot reverse confirmed war crimes against Gazans.
Abu Zuhri further highlighted that Palestine is the homeland of the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Muslims, and will never be a Jewish land no matter what.
Hamas legislator Mushier Al Masri, meanwhile, stated that Netanyahu does his utmost to cover up the Gaza manslaughter in the hope to twist the world logic and gain support for 'Zionist terrorism”.
The Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator with Israel, Saib Erekat, also called Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state 'unacceptable'.
During his UN General Assembly speech on Thursday, Netanyahu referred to the Holocaust and the decision to annihilate the Jewish people during the Nazi era. He also reiterated his demands that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish State as a precondition to resuming the stalled peace process.
"Netanyahu spoke of the Holocaust but Israel committed the largest massacre of the century," Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri, said in reference to Operation Cast Lead which resulted in the death of over 1,500 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,450 people in the impoverished Gaza Strip.
He added the Israeli Prime Minister is seeking to justify the massacres in the blockaded coastal sliver, and that such falsehood cannot reverse confirmed war crimes against Gazans.
Abu Zuhri further highlighted that Palestine is the homeland of the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Muslims, and will never be a Jewish land no matter what.
Hamas legislator Mushier Al Masri, meanwhile, stated that Netanyahu does his utmost to cover up the Gaza manslaughter in the hope to twist the world logic and gain support for 'Zionist terrorism”.
The Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator with Israel, Saib Erekat, also called Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state 'unacceptable'.
During his UN General Assembly speech on Thursday, Netanyahu referred to the Holocaust and the decision to annihilate the Jewish people during the Nazi era. He also reiterated his demands that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish State as a precondition to resuming the stalled peace process.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Hamas leader interview
Ken Livingstone
20-sep-2009 03:11
Damascus
In a world exclusive, Ken Livingstone discusses religion, violence and the chances for peace with the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal
The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. As President Obama says, there is no peace process today. Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, continues to extend illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and maintain a near-complete blockade of Gaza. Palestinians fire ineffectual rockets into Israel. Israel regularly attacks Palestinian territories with modern weapons.
No major conflict can be resolved without each side talking to the other. That was the case in South Africa, Ireland and countless other situations where people said they would never talk to their opponents. I was vilified in the Eighties for saying that, to resolve the Irish conflict, you had to talk to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.
In the Middle East, peace can only be achieved through discussion between the elected representatives of both the Israelis and the Palestinians - and that means Hamas, which won a big majority in the last Palestinian parliamentary election, as well as Fatah. This does not mean that I agree with the views of Hamas, Fatah or the government of Israel. Far from it: I do not. For example, I think a number of passages in the original Hamas charter are unacceptable and should be repudiated. Many observers believe that this is also the view of some in Hamas.
Yet, for too many people, Hamas as an organisation remains opaque. What they know about it is derived from a hostile media; it has no face. Most would probably think its leader is some disturbed Osama Bin Laden figure. In fact, al-Qaeda's supporters in Gaza are so hostile to Hamas that they have declared war on it.
For these reasons, I thought it important to interview the de facto leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, who lives in exile in Syria. Not every issue is clear. But at the beginning of any peace process, what matters most is engagement. Dialogue is necessary to get to clarity and mutual understanding. Sinn Fein did not answer every question at the beginning and neither does Binyamin Netanyahu today. The answers from Meshal come at a time of heightened tensions and renewed death threats against him, adding to the permanent danger of assassination bids not only by the Israelis, but also al-Qaeda supporters in the region.
I hope this interview will help to make the case for the dialogue that is needed, which I believe is inevitable. It is simply a question of how much suffering there will be, on both sides, before we get there.
Ken Livingstone: Could you explain a little about your childhood and the experiences that shaped your development into the person you are today?
Khaled Meshal: I was born in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah in 1956. In my early age, I learned from my father how he was part of the Palestinian revolution against the British mandate in Palestine in the Thirties and how he fought, alongside other Palestinians using primitive weapons, against the well-equipped and trained Zionist gangs attacking Palestinian villages in 1948
I lived in Silwad for 11 years until the 1967 war, when I was forced with my family, like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, to leave home and settle in Jordan. That was a shocking experience I will never forget.
KL: What happened to you after the war?
KM: Soon afterwards, I left Jordan for Kuwait, where my father had already been working and living since before 1967. After completing my primary education in 1970, I joined the prestigious Abdullah al-Salim Secondary School. In the early Seventies, it was a hub of intense political and ideological activity.
During my second year at al-Salim school, I joined the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun). Upon finishing my fourth year successfully I secured admission to Kuwait University, where I studied for a BSc degree in physics.
Kuwait University had an active branch of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS), which had been under the absolute control of the Fatah movement. I and my fellow Islamists decided, in 1977, to join GUPS, which we had previously shunned, and contest its leadership election. However, working from within GUPS proved impossible; we felt constantly impeded and realised we Islamists would never be given a chance. By 1980, two years after I graduated, my juniors decided to leave GUPS and form their own Palestinian association on campus.
Many of the students had become disillusioned with the Palestinian leadership, who seemed intent on settling for much less than what they had grown up dreaming of, namely the complete liberation of Palestine and the return of all the refugees to their homes
KL: What is the situation in Gaza today?
KM: Gaza today is under siege. Crossings are closed most of the time and for months victims of the Israeli war on Gaza have been denied access to construction materials to rebuild their destroyed homes. Schools, hospitals and homes in many parts of the Gaza Strip are in need of rebuilding. Tens of thousands of people remain homeless. As winter approaches, the conditions of these victims will only get worse in the cold and rain. One and a half million people are held hostage in one of the biggest prisons in the history of humanity. They are unable to travel freely out of the Strip, whether for medical treatment, for education or for other needs. What we have in Gaza is a disaster and a crime against humanity perpetrated by the Israelis. The world community, through its silence and indifference, colludes in this crime.
KL: Why do you think Israel is still imposing the siege on Gaza?
KM: The Israelis claim that the siege is for security reasons. The real intention is to pressure Hamas by punishing the entire population. The sanctions were put in place soon after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in January 2006. While security is one of their concerns, it is not the main motivation. The primary objective is to provoke a coup against the results of the democratic elections that brought Hamas to power. The Israelis and their allies seek to impose failure on Hamas by persecuting the people. This is a hideous and immoral endeavour. Today, the siege continues despite the fact that we have, for the past six months, observed a ceasefire. Last year, a truce was observed from June to December 2008. Yet the siege was never lifted, and the sanctions remained in place. Undermining Hamas is the main objective of the siege. The Israelis hope to turn the people of Gaza against Hamas by increasing the suffering of the entire population of the Strip.
KL: How many supporters of Hamas and elected representatives of Hamas are there in prison in Israel? Have they all been charged and convicted of crimes?
KM: Out of a total of 12,000 Palestinian captives in Israeli detention, around 4,000 are Hamas members. These include scores of ministers and parliamentarians (Palestinian Legislative Council members). Around ten have recently been released, but about 40 PLC members remain in detention. Some have been given sentences, but many are held in what the Israelis call administrative detention. The only crime these people are accused of is their association with Hamas's parliamentary group. Exercising one's democratic right is considered a crime by Israel. All these Palestinians are brought before an Israeli system of justice that has nothing to do with justice. The Israeli judiciary is an instrument of the occupation. In Israel, there are two systems of justice: one applies to Israelis and another applies to the Palestinians. This is an apartheid regime.
KL: What part, if any, do other states and institutions, such as the US, the EU, Britain, Egypt, or the Palestinian Authority, play in the blockade of Gaza?
KM: The blockade of Gaza would never have succeeded had it not been for the collusion of regional and international powers.
KL: How do you think the blockade can be lifted?
KM: In order for the blockade to be lifted, the rule of international law must be respected. The basic human rights of the Palestinians and their right to live in dignity and free from persecution would have to be acknowledged. There has to be an international will to serve justice and uphold the basic principles of international human rights law. The international community would have to free itself from the shackles of Israeli pressure, speak the truth and act accordingly.
KL: Israel says that the bombing and invasion of Gaza last year was in response to repeated breaking of the ceasefire by Hamas and the firing of rockets into southern Israel. Is this the case?
KM: The Israelis are not telling the truth. We entered into a truce deal with Israel from 19 June to 19 December 2008. Yet the blockade was not lifted. The deal entailed a bilateral ceasefire, lifting the blockade and opening the crossings. We fully abided by the ceasefire while Israel only partially observed it, and towards the end of the term it resumed hostilities. Throughout that period, Israel maintained the siege and only intermittently opened some of the crossings, allowing no more than 10 per cent of the basic needs of the Gazan population to get through. Israel killed the potential for renewing the truce because it deliberately and repeatedly violated it.
I have always informed my western visitors, including the former US president Jimmy Carter, that the moment Hamas is offered a truce that includes lifting the blockade and opening the crossings, Hamas will adopt a positive stance. So far, no one has made us any such offer. As far as we are concerned, the blockade amounts to a declaration of war that warrants self-defence.
KL: What are the ideology and goals of Hamas?
KM: Our people have been the victims of a colonial project called Israel. For years, we have suffered various forms of repression. Half of our people have been dispossessed and are denied the right to return to their homes, and half live under an occupation regime that violates their basic human rights. Hamas struggles for an end to occupation and for the restoration of our people's rights, including their right to return home.
KL: What is your view of the cause of the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians?
KM: The conflict is the outcome of aggression and occupation. Our struggle against the Israelis is not because they are Jewish, but because they invaded our homeland and dispossessed us. We do not accept that because the Jews were once persecuted in Europe they have the right to take our land and throw us out. The injustices suffered by the Jews in Europe were horrible and criminal, but were not perpetrated by the Palestinians or the Arabs or the Muslims. So, why should we be punished for the sins of others or be made to pay for their crime?
KL: Do you believe that Israel intends to continue to expand its borders?
KM: Israel does not, officially, have stated borders. When Israel was created in our homeland 62 years ago, its founders dreamed of a "Greater Israel" that extended from the Nile to the Euphrates. Expansionism manifested itself on different occasions: in 1956, in 1967 and later on in the occupation of parts of Lebanon in the Eighties. Arab weakness, Israeli military superiority, the support given to Israel by the western powers, and the massacres it was prepared to commit against unarmed civilians in Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon, enabled it to expand from time to time. Although expansionism still lurks in the minds of many Israelis, it would seem that this is no longer a practical option. Lebanese and Palestinian resistance has forced Israel to withdraw unilaterally from lands it had previously occupied through war and aggression. While in the past Israel was able to defeat several Arab armies, today it faces formidable resistance that will not only check its expansionism but also, in time, force it to relinquish more of the land that it illegally occupies.
KL: What are your principal goals? Is Hamas primarily a political or a religious organisation?
KM: Hamas is a national liberation movement. We do not see a contradiction between our Islamic identity and our political mission. While we engage the occupiers through resistance and struggle to achieve our people's rights, we are proud of our religious identity that derives from Islam. Unlike the experience of the Europeans with Christianity, Islam does not provide for, demand or recognise an ecclesiastical authority. It simply provides a set of broad guidelines whose detailed interpretations are subject to and the product of human endeavour (ijtihad).
KL: Are you committed to the destruction of Israel?
KM: What is really happening is the destruction of the Palestinian people by Israel; it is the one that occupies our land and exiles us, kills us, incarcerates us and persecutes our people. We are the victims, Israel is the oppressor, and not vice versa.
KL: Why does Hamas support military force in this conflict?
KM: Military force is an option that our people resort to because nothing else works. Israel's conduct and the collusion of the international community, whether through silence or indifference or actual embroilment, vindicate armed resistance. We would love to see this conflict resolved peacefully. If occupation were to come to an end and our people enabled to exercise self-determination in their homeland, there would then be no need for any use of force. The reality is that nearly 20 years of peaceful negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis have not restored any of our rights. On the contrary, we have incurred more suffering and more losses as a result of the one-sided compromises made by the Palestinian negotiating party.
Since the PLO entered into the Oslo peace deal with Israel in 1993, more Palestinian land in the West Bank has been expropriated by the Israelis to build more illegal Jewish settlements, expand existing ones or construct highways for the exclusive use of Israelis living in these settlements. The apartheid wall that the Israelis erected along the West Bank has consumed large areas of the land that was supposed to be returned to the Palestinians according to the peace deal.
The apartheid wall and hundreds of checkpoints turned the West Bank into isolated enclaves like cells in a large prison, which makes life intolerable.
Jerusalem is constantly tampered with in order to alter its landscape and identity, and hundreds of Palestinian homes have been destroyed inside the city and around it, making thousands of Palestinians homeless in their own homeland. Instead of releasing Palestinian prisoners, the Israelis have arrested an additional 5,000 Palestinians since the Annapolis peace conference in 2007 - actions that testify to the fact they simply aren't interested in peace at all.
KL: Does Hamas engage in military activity outside Palestine?
KM: No; since its establishment 22 years ago, Hamas has confined its field of military operation to occupied Palestine.
KL: Do you wish to establish an Islamic state in Palestine in which all other religions are subordinate?
KM: Our priority as a national liberation movement is to end the Israeli occupation of our homeland. Once our people are free in their land and enjoy the right to self-determination, they alone have the final say on what system of governance they wish to live under. It is our firm belief that Islam cannot be imposed on the people. We shall campaign, in a fully democratic process, for an Islamic agenda. If that is what the people opt for, then that is their choice. We believe that Islam is the best source of guidance and the best guarantor for the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
KL: Does Hamas impose Islamic dress in Gaza? For example, is it compulsory in Gaza for women to wear the hijab, niqab or burqa?
KM: No. Intellectually, Hamas derives its vision from the people's culture and religion. Islam is our religion and is the basic constituent of our culture. We do not deny other Palestinians the right to have different visions. We do not impose on the people any aspects of religion or social conduct. Features of religion in Gaza society are genuine and spontaneous; they have not been imposed by any authority other than the faith and conviction of the observant.
KL: It is suggested that the division in the Palestinian people between the West Bank and Gaza and between Fatah and Hamas, which obviously weakens their position, came about because Hamas seized power by force in Gaza. Is this true and how do you explain this division?
KM: Undoubtedly, division does weaken the Palestinians and harms their cause. However, the division is caused not by Hamas, but by the insistence of certain international and regional parties on reversing the results of Palestinian democracy. It dismayed them that Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people.
The division is compounded by the existence of a Palestinian party that seeks empowerment from those same regional and international parties, including the US and Israel, that wish to see Hamas out of the arena. Soon after its victory in the election of January 2006, every effort was exerted to undermine the ability of Hamas to govern.
When these efforts failed, General Keith Dayton, of the United States army, who currently serves as US security co-ordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was despatched to Gaza to plot a coup against the Hamas-led national unity government that came out of the Mecca agreement of 2007. The plot prompted Hamas in Gaza to act in self-defence in the events of June 2007. The claim that Hamas carried out a coup is baseless because Hamas was leading the democratically elected government. All it did was act against those who were plotting a coup against it under the command and guidance of General Dayton.
KL: Do those of other political or religious views such as Fatah enjoy democratic freedoms in Gaza? What is the situation of Hamas members in the West Bank territories controlled by Fatah?
KM: Some Palestinian factions have been inspired by Arab nationalism, others by Marxism or Leninism, and others by liberalism. While we strongly believe that these ideas are alien to our people and have failed to meet their aspirations, we insist that the people are the final arbiter on whom they wish to lead them and by which system they desire to be governed. Thus, democracy is our best option for settling our internal Palestinian differences. Whatever the people choose will have to be respected.
We endeavour to the best of our ability to protect the human rights and civil liberties of the affiliates of Fatah and all the other factions within the Gaza Strip. In contrast, the Palestinians in the West Bank under Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah continue to be denied their basic rights. General Dayton is in the West Bank supervising the severe and brutal crackdown on Hamas and other Palestinian groups. More than 1,000 political prisoners, including students, university professors and professionals in all fields are hunted down, detained and tortured, sometimes to death, by the US-, British- and EU-trained and -sponsored Palestinian Authority's security force.
KL: Do you believe it is possible to reunite the Palestinian people? If so, how do you think this could be done and within what kind of timescale?
KM: It is possible to reunite the Palestinians. In order for this to happen two things are needed. First, foreign interventions and demands must stop. The Palestinian people should be left to deal with their own differences without external pressure. Second, all Palestinian parties must respect the rules of the democratic game and submit to the results of its process.
KL: Hamas's refusal to recognise Israel is frequently cited as an insuperable obstacle to negotiations and a peace settlement.
KM: This issue is only used as a pretext. Israel does not recognise the rights of the Palestinian people, yet this is not raised as an obstacle to Israel being internationally recognised nor to it being allowed to take part in talks. The reality is that Israel is the one that occupies the land and possesses superior power. Rather than ask the Palestinians, who are the victims, it is Israel, who is the oppressor, who should be asked to recognise the rights of the Palestinians.
In the past, Yasser Arafat recognised Israel but failed to achieve much. Today, Mahmoud Abbas recognises Israel, but we have yet to see any of the promised dividends of the peace process.
Israel concedes only under pressure. In the absence of any tangible pressure on Israel by the Arabs or by the international community, no settlement will succeed.
KL: Do you have a "road map" of interim steps which could realistically lead to a peaceful settlement of the conflict? Do you think Jews, Muslims and Christians can one day live together in peace in the Holy Land?
KM: We do, in Hamas, believe that a realistic peaceful settlement to the conflict will have to begin with a ceasefire agreement between the two sides based on a full withdrawal of Israel from all the territories occupied in 1967. Israeli intransigence and the lack of will to act on the part of the international community are what impede this settlement. We believe that only once our people are free and back in their land will they be able to determine the future of the conflict.
It should be reiterated here that we do not resist the Israelis because they are Jews. As a matter of principle, we do not have problems with the Jews or the Christians, but do have a problem with those who attack us and oppress us. For many centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted peacefully in this part of the world. Our society never witnessed the sort of racism and genocide that Europe saw until recently against "the other". These issues started in Europe. Colonialism was imposed on this region by Europe, and Israel was the product of the oppression of the Jews in Europe and not of any such problem that existed in the Muslim land.
KL: What role do you think that other countries and organisations, in particular the US, EU and Britain, are currently playing in the Israel/ Palestine conflict and the divisions between the Palestinians?
KM: The role played by all these has thus far been negative. The attitude towards Israeli crimes against our people has been either silence or collusion. The policies and positions adopted by these parties have contributed to the Palestinian division or augmented it. On the one hand, conditions are stipulated that have the effect of torpedoing unity talks and reconciliation efforts. On the other hand, some of these international parties are directly embroiled in suppressing our people in the West Bank. The US and the EU provide funding, training and guidance to build a Palestinian security apparatus specialised in the persecution of critics of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
We have particularly been concerned about reports that the British government, directly as well as indirectly by means of security firms and the services of retired army, police and intelligence officers, is fully involved in the programme led by General Dayton against Hamas in the West Bank. KL: What should countries such as the US and Britain do to assist a peaceful settlement?
KM: They should simply uphold international law - the occupation is illegal, the annexation of East Jerusalem is illegal, the settlements are illegal, the apartheid wall is illegal, and the siege of Gaza is illegal. Yet nothing is done.
KL: What relations does Hamas wish to have with the rest of the world, and, for example, with Britain?
KM: Hamas defends a just cause. For this purpose, it desires to open up to the world. The movement seeks to establish good relations and to conduct constructive dialogue with all those concerned with Palestine.
20-sep-2009 03:11
Damascus
In a world exclusive, Ken Livingstone discusses religion, violence and the chances for peace with the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal
The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. As President Obama says, there is no peace process today. Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, continues to extend illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and maintain a near-complete blockade of Gaza. Palestinians fire ineffectual rockets into Israel. Israel regularly attacks Palestinian territories with modern weapons.
No major conflict can be resolved without each side talking to the other. That was the case in South Africa, Ireland and countless other situations where people said they would never talk to their opponents. I was vilified in the Eighties for saying that, to resolve the Irish conflict, you had to talk to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.
In the Middle East, peace can only be achieved through discussion between the elected representatives of both the Israelis and the Palestinians - and that means Hamas, which won a big majority in the last Palestinian parliamentary election, as well as Fatah. This does not mean that I agree with the views of Hamas, Fatah or the government of Israel. Far from it: I do not. For example, I think a number of passages in the original Hamas charter are unacceptable and should be repudiated. Many observers believe that this is also the view of some in Hamas.
Yet, for too many people, Hamas as an organisation remains opaque. What they know about it is derived from a hostile media; it has no face. Most would probably think its leader is some disturbed Osama Bin Laden figure. In fact, al-Qaeda's supporters in Gaza are so hostile to Hamas that they have declared war on it.
For these reasons, I thought it important to interview the de facto leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, who lives in exile in Syria. Not every issue is clear. But at the beginning of any peace process, what matters most is engagement. Dialogue is necessary to get to clarity and mutual understanding. Sinn Fein did not answer every question at the beginning and neither does Binyamin Netanyahu today. The answers from Meshal come at a time of heightened tensions and renewed death threats against him, adding to the permanent danger of assassination bids not only by the Israelis, but also al-Qaeda supporters in the region.
I hope this interview will help to make the case for the dialogue that is needed, which I believe is inevitable. It is simply a question of how much suffering there will be, on both sides, before we get there.
Ken Livingstone: Could you explain a little about your childhood and the experiences that shaped your development into the person you are today?
Khaled Meshal: I was born in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah in 1956. In my early age, I learned from my father how he was part of the Palestinian revolution against the British mandate in Palestine in the Thirties and how he fought, alongside other Palestinians using primitive weapons, against the well-equipped and trained Zionist gangs attacking Palestinian villages in 1948
I lived in Silwad for 11 years until the 1967 war, when I was forced with my family, like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, to leave home and settle in Jordan. That was a shocking experience I will never forget.
KL: What happened to you after the war?
KM: Soon afterwards, I left Jordan for Kuwait, where my father had already been working and living since before 1967. After completing my primary education in 1970, I joined the prestigious Abdullah al-Salim Secondary School. In the early Seventies, it was a hub of intense political and ideological activity.
During my second year at al-Salim school, I joined the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun). Upon finishing my fourth year successfully I secured admission to Kuwait University, where I studied for a BSc degree in physics.
Kuwait University had an active branch of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS), which had been under the absolute control of the Fatah movement. I and my fellow Islamists decided, in 1977, to join GUPS, which we had previously shunned, and contest its leadership election. However, working from within GUPS proved impossible; we felt constantly impeded and realised we Islamists would never be given a chance. By 1980, two years after I graduated, my juniors decided to leave GUPS and form their own Palestinian association on campus.
Many of the students had become disillusioned with the Palestinian leadership, who seemed intent on settling for much less than what they had grown up dreaming of, namely the complete liberation of Palestine and the return of all the refugees to their homes
KL: What is the situation in Gaza today?
KM: Gaza today is under siege. Crossings are closed most of the time and for months victims of the Israeli war on Gaza have been denied access to construction materials to rebuild their destroyed homes. Schools, hospitals and homes in many parts of the Gaza Strip are in need of rebuilding. Tens of thousands of people remain homeless. As winter approaches, the conditions of these victims will only get worse in the cold and rain. One and a half million people are held hostage in one of the biggest prisons in the history of humanity. They are unable to travel freely out of the Strip, whether for medical treatment, for education or for other needs. What we have in Gaza is a disaster and a crime against humanity perpetrated by the Israelis. The world community, through its silence and indifference, colludes in this crime.
KL: Why do you think Israel is still imposing the siege on Gaza?
KM: The Israelis claim that the siege is for security reasons. The real intention is to pressure Hamas by punishing the entire population. The sanctions were put in place soon after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in January 2006. While security is one of their concerns, it is not the main motivation. The primary objective is to provoke a coup against the results of the democratic elections that brought Hamas to power. The Israelis and their allies seek to impose failure on Hamas by persecuting the people. This is a hideous and immoral endeavour. Today, the siege continues despite the fact that we have, for the past six months, observed a ceasefire. Last year, a truce was observed from June to December 2008. Yet the siege was never lifted, and the sanctions remained in place. Undermining Hamas is the main objective of the siege. The Israelis hope to turn the people of Gaza against Hamas by increasing the suffering of the entire population of the Strip.
KL: How many supporters of Hamas and elected representatives of Hamas are there in prison in Israel? Have they all been charged and convicted of crimes?
KM: Out of a total of 12,000 Palestinian captives in Israeli detention, around 4,000 are Hamas members. These include scores of ministers and parliamentarians (Palestinian Legislative Council members). Around ten have recently been released, but about 40 PLC members remain in detention. Some have been given sentences, but many are held in what the Israelis call administrative detention. The only crime these people are accused of is their association with Hamas's parliamentary group. Exercising one's democratic right is considered a crime by Israel. All these Palestinians are brought before an Israeli system of justice that has nothing to do with justice. The Israeli judiciary is an instrument of the occupation. In Israel, there are two systems of justice: one applies to Israelis and another applies to the Palestinians. This is an apartheid regime.
KL: What part, if any, do other states and institutions, such as the US, the EU, Britain, Egypt, or the Palestinian Authority, play in the blockade of Gaza?
KM: The blockade of Gaza would never have succeeded had it not been for the collusion of regional and international powers.
KL: How do you think the blockade can be lifted?
KM: In order for the blockade to be lifted, the rule of international law must be respected. The basic human rights of the Palestinians and their right to live in dignity and free from persecution would have to be acknowledged. There has to be an international will to serve justice and uphold the basic principles of international human rights law. The international community would have to free itself from the shackles of Israeli pressure, speak the truth and act accordingly.
KL: Israel says that the bombing and invasion of Gaza last year was in response to repeated breaking of the ceasefire by Hamas and the firing of rockets into southern Israel. Is this the case?
KM: The Israelis are not telling the truth. We entered into a truce deal with Israel from 19 June to 19 December 2008. Yet the blockade was not lifted. The deal entailed a bilateral ceasefire, lifting the blockade and opening the crossings. We fully abided by the ceasefire while Israel only partially observed it, and towards the end of the term it resumed hostilities. Throughout that period, Israel maintained the siege and only intermittently opened some of the crossings, allowing no more than 10 per cent of the basic needs of the Gazan population to get through. Israel killed the potential for renewing the truce because it deliberately and repeatedly violated it.
I have always informed my western visitors, including the former US president Jimmy Carter, that the moment Hamas is offered a truce that includes lifting the blockade and opening the crossings, Hamas will adopt a positive stance. So far, no one has made us any such offer. As far as we are concerned, the blockade amounts to a declaration of war that warrants self-defence.
KL: What are the ideology and goals of Hamas?
KM: Our people have been the victims of a colonial project called Israel. For years, we have suffered various forms of repression. Half of our people have been dispossessed and are denied the right to return to their homes, and half live under an occupation regime that violates their basic human rights. Hamas struggles for an end to occupation and for the restoration of our people's rights, including their right to return home.
KL: What is your view of the cause of the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians?
KM: The conflict is the outcome of aggression and occupation. Our struggle against the Israelis is not because they are Jewish, but because they invaded our homeland and dispossessed us. We do not accept that because the Jews were once persecuted in Europe they have the right to take our land and throw us out. The injustices suffered by the Jews in Europe were horrible and criminal, but were not perpetrated by the Palestinians or the Arabs or the Muslims. So, why should we be punished for the sins of others or be made to pay for their crime?
KL: Do you believe that Israel intends to continue to expand its borders?
KM: Israel does not, officially, have stated borders. When Israel was created in our homeland 62 years ago, its founders dreamed of a "Greater Israel" that extended from the Nile to the Euphrates. Expansionism manifested itself on different occasions: in 1956, in 1967 and later on in the occupation of parts of Lebanon in the Eighties. Arab weakness, Israeli military superiority, the support given to Israel by the western powers, and the massacres it was prepared to commit against unarmed civilians in Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon, enabled it to expand from time to time. Although expansionism still lurks in the minds of many Israelis, it would seem that this is no longer a practical option. Lebanese and Palestinian resistance has forced Israel to withdraw unilaterally from lands it had previously occupied through war and aggression. While in the past Israel was able to defeat several Arab armies, today it faces formidable resistance that will not only check its expansionism but also, in time, force it to relinquish more of the land that it illegally occupies.
KL: What are your principal goals? Is Hamas primarily a political or a religious organisation?
KM: Hamas is a national liberation movement. We do not see a contradiction between our Islamic identity and our political mission. While we engage the occupiers through resistance and struggle to achieve our people's rights, we are proud of our religious identity that derives from Islam. Unlike the experience of the Europeans with Christianity, Islam does not provide for, demand or recognise an ecclesiastical authority. It simply provides a set of broad guidelines whose detailed interpretations are subject to and the product of human endeavour (ijtihad).
KL: Are you committed to the destruction of Israel?
KM: What is really happening is the destruction of the Palestinian people by Israel; it is the one that occupies our land and exiles us, kills us, incarcerates us and persecutes our people. We are the victims, Israel is the oppressor, and not vice versa.
KL: Why does Hamas support military force in this conflict?
KM: Military force is an option that our people resort to because nothing else works. Israel's conduct and the collusion of the international community, whether through silence or indifference or actual embroilment, vindicate armed resistance. We would love to see this conflict resolved peacefully. If occupation were to come to an end and our people enabled to exercise self-determination in their homeland, there would then be no need for any use of force. The reality is that nearly 20 years of peaceful negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis have not restored any of our rights. On the contrary, we have incurred more suffering and more losses as a result of the one-sided compromises made by the Palestinian negotiating party.
Since the PLO entered into the Oslo peace deal with Israel in 1993, more Palestinian land in the West Bank has been expropriated by the Israelis to build more illegal Jewish settlements, expand existing ones or construct highways for the exclusive use of Israelis living in these settlements. The apartheid wall that the Israelis erected along the West Bank has consumed large areas of the land that was supposed to be returned to the Palestinians according to the peace deal.
The apartheid wall and hundreds of checkpoints turned the West Bank into isolated enclaves like cells in a large prison, which makes life intolerable.
Jerusalem is constantly tampered with in order to alter its landscape and identity, and hundreds of Palestinian homes have been destroyed inside the city and around it, making thousands of Palestinians homeless in their own homeland. Instead of releasing Palestinian prisoners, the Israelis have arrested an additional 5,000 Palestinians since the Annapolis peace conference in 2007 - actions that testify to the fact they simply aren't interested in peace at all.
KL: Does Hamas engage in military activity outside Palestine?
KM: No; since its establishment 22 years ago, Hamas has confined its field of military operation to occupied Palestine.
KL: Do you wish to establish an Islamic state in Palestine in which all other religions are subordinate?
KM: Our priority as a national liberation movement is to end the Israeli occupation of our homeland. Once our people are free in their land and enjoy the right to self-determination, they alone have the final say on what system of governance they wish to live under. It is our firm belief that Islam cannot be imposed on the people. We shall campaign, in a fully democratic process, for an Islamic agenda. If that is what the people opt for, then that is their choice. We believe that Islam is the best source of guidance and the best guarantor for the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
KL: Does Hamas impose Islamic dress in Gaza? For example, is it compulsory in Gaza for women to wear the hijab, niqab or burqa?
KM: No. Intellectually, Hamas derives its vision from the people's culture and religion. Islam is our religion and is the basic constituent of our culture. We do not deny other Palestinians the right to have different visions. We do not impose on the people any aspects of religion or social conduct. Features of religion in Gaza society are genuine and spontaneous; they have not been imposed by any authority other than the faith and conviction of the observant.
KL: It is suggested that the division in the Palestinian people between the West Bank and Gaza and between Fatah and Hamas, which obviously weakens their position, came about because Hamas seized power by force in Gaza. Is this true and how do you explain this division?
KM: Undoubtedly, division does weaken the Palestinians and harms their cause. However, the division is caused not by Hamas, but by the insistence of certain international and regional parties on reversing the results of Palestinian democracy. It dismayed them that Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people.
The division is compounded by the existence of a Palestinian party that seeks empowerment from those same regional and international parties, including the US and Israel, that wish to see Hamas out of the arena. Soon after its victory in the election of January 2006, every effort was exerted to undermine the ability of Hamas to govern.
When these efforts failed, General Keith Dayton, of the United States army, who currently serves as US security co-ordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was despatched to Gaza to plot a coup against the Hamas-led national unity government that came out of the Mecca agreement of 2007. The plot prompted Hamas in Gaza to act in self-defence in the events of June 2007. The claim that Hamas carried out a coup is baseless because Hamas was leading the democratically elected government. All it did was act against those who were plotting a coup against it under the command and guidance of General Dayton.
KL: Do those of other political or religious views such as Fatah enjoy democratic freedoms in Gaza? What is the situation of Hamas members in the West Bank territories controlled by Fatah?
KM: Some Palestinian factions have been inspired by Arab nationalism, others by Marxism or Leninism, and others by liberalism. While we strongly believe that these ideas are alien to our people and have failed to meet their aspirations, we insist that the people are the final arbiter on whom they wish to lead them and by which system they desire to be governed. Thus, democracy is our best option for settling our internal Palestinian differences. Whatever the people choose will have to be respected.
We endeavour to the best of our ability to protect the human rights and civil liberties of the affiliates of Fatah and all the other factions within the Gaza Strip. In contrast, the Palestinians in the West Bank under Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah continue to be denied their basic rights. General Dayton is in the West Bank supervising the severe and brutal crackdown on Hamas and other Palestinian groups. More than 1,000 political prisoners, including students, university professors and professionals in all fields are hunted down, detained and tortured, sometimes to death, by the US-, British- and EU-trained and -sponsored Palestinian Authority's security force.
KL: Do you believe it is possible to reunite the Palestinian people? If so, how do you think this could be done and within what kind of timescale?
KM: It is possible to reunite the Palestinians. In order for this to happen two things are needed. First, foreign interventions and demands must stop. The Palestinian people should be left to deal with their own differences without external pressure. Second, all Palestinian parties must respect the rules of the democratic game and submit to the results of its process.
KL: Hamas's refusal to recognise Israel is frequently cited as an insuperable obstacle to negotiations and a peace settlement.
KM: This issue is only used as a pretext. Israel does not recognise the rights of the Palestinian people, yet this is not raised as an obstacle to Israel being internationally recognised nor to it being allowed to take part in talks. The reality is that Israel is the one that occupies the land and possesses superior power. Rather than ask the Palestinians, who are the victims, it is Israel, who is the oppressor, who should be asked to recognise the rights of the Palestinians.
In the past, Yasser Arafat recognised Israel but failed to achieve much. Today, Mahmoud Abbas recognises Israel, but we have yet to see any of the promised dividends of the peace process.
Israel concedes only under pressure. In the absence of any tangible pressure on Israel by the Arabs or by the international community, no settlement will succeed.
KL: Do you have a "road map" of interim steps which could realistically lead to a peaceful settlement of the conflict? Do you think Jews, Muslims and Christians can one day live together in peace in the Holy Land?
KM: We do, in Hamas, believe that a realistic peaceful settlement to the conflict will have to begin with a ceasefire agreement between the two sides based on a full withdrawal of Israel from all the territories occupied in 1967. Israeli intransigence and the lack of will to act on the part of the international community are what impede this settlement. We believe that only once our people are free and back in their land will they be able to determine the future of the conflict.
It should be reiterated here that we do not resist the Israelis because they are Jews. As a matter of principle, we do not have problems with the Jews or the Christians, but do have a problem with those who attack us and oppress us. For many centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted peacefully in this part of the world. Our society never witnessed the sort of racism and genocide that Europe saw until recently against "the other". These issues started in Europe. Colonialism was imposed on this region by Europe, and Israel was the product of the oppression of the Jews in Europe and not of any such problem that existed in the Muslim land.
KL: What role do you think that other countries and organisations, in particular the US, EU and Britain, are currently playing in the Israel/ Palestine conflict and the divisions between the Palestinians?
KM: The role played by all these has thus far been negative. The attitude towards Israeli crimes against our people has been either silence or collusion. The policies and positions adopted by these parties have contributed to the Palestinian division or augmented it. On the one hand, conditions are stipulated that have the effect of torpedoing unity talks and reconciliation efforts. On the other hand, some of these international parties are directly embroiled in suppressing our people in the West Bank. The US and the EU provide funding, training and guidance to build a Palestinian security apparatus specialised in the persecution of critics of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
We have particularly been concerned about reports that the British government, directly as well as indirectly by means of security firms and the services of retired army, police and intelligence officers, is fully involved in the programme led by General Dayton against Hamas in the West Bank. KL: What should countries such as the US and Britain do to assist a peaceful settlement?
KM: They should simply uphold international law - the occupation is illegal, the annexation of East Jerusalem is illegal, the settlements are illegal, the apartheid wall is illegal, and the siege of Gaza is illegal. Yet nothing is done.
KL: What relations does Hamas wish to have with the rest of the world, and, for example, with Britain?
KM: Hamas defends a just cause. For this purpose, it desires to open up to the world. The movement seeks to establish good relations and to conduct constructive dialogue with all those concerned with Palestine.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Worlds apart
Saleh Al-Naami
September 11, 2009
While Cairo issues its ultimatum for inter-Palestinian reconciliation, Ismail Haniyeh speaks to Saleh Al-Naami in Gaza about the role of Hamas in the upcoming elections
"A recipe for separation." These were the words Ismail Haniyeh used to describe the plan to hold Palestinian legislative and presidential elections on 25 January. Earlier, Mahmoud Abbas said that the elections would go ahead even if Hamas refused to take part. Al-Ahram Weekly met Haniyeh in Gaza last week and heard that elections should be a two-way street.
"Although elections are the only way to rotate power, we believe that certain guarantees should be met in order for elections to go ahead in a healthy manner. A minimum of requisites should be met in order to avert a repetition of the recent elections, when everyone made a point of punishing the Palestinian people for their democratic choice." There is no guarantee that fair elections can be held under the present circumstances, Haniyeh stated.
"What kind of elections are they talking about at a time when the leaders and activists of Hamas are being detained by the security forces of [Prime Minister] Fayyad and Israel? How can elections be held under repression and fear?" he asked.
Haniyeh warned of holding the elections in the West Bank alone, describing the move as a "national crime". Certain people, some of them Palestinians, are acting with "no regard" for the national interests of the people, he remarked. However, he admitted that certain leaders in Fatah, as well as some Arab governments, are trying to dissuade the PA from going solo with the elections.
"There are some people who are trying to use the sessions of [inter-Palestinian] dialogue to trick the Palestinians... They think that they can outsmart the Palestinian people and their leaders. They think they can do things to harm the Palestinian national cause. But they are quite mistaken," Haniyeh stated.
The Gaza-based prime minister lashed out at what he called the "selectiveness and double standards" of those who want to hold legislative and presidential elections without the consent of Hamas. "Fatah and Hamas, as well as the rest of Palestinian factions, have agreed to restructure the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] on a sound basis. We have agreed to hold new elections for the Palestinian National Council. We have agreed to re-elect the leaders of the PLO. Why are they not interested in holding the National Council elections?" Haniyeh said that the holding of elections for the National Council was a "primary condition" for rehabilitating the PLO.
Haniyeh, who has a reputation of being a level-headed man who shuns wild impulses, told the Weekly that the urge to hold presidential and legislative elections in January is related to the initiative US President Barack Obama intends to launch during UN General Assembly meetings this month. According to Haniyeh, the plan Obama is likely to propose subscribes fully to the Israeli point of view.
Haniyeh called on the Obama administration to distance itself from the Israeli vision of a solution. He said that the Obama administration must "through deeds and not just words introduce the changes it had promised in international relations. No US initiative to settle the conflict can succeed if it were based on Zionist views and guided by Israel's compass." Washington's belief that a temporary halt of settlement building should be rewarded by normalisation is unfortunate, he adds. Indeed, it is a sign that the Obama administration is not serious about resolving the conflict in an objective manner.
Haniyeh said that the restoration of domestic Palestinian unity is essential in the face of Israeli measures in Jerusalem. He added that Jerusalem is coming under brutal attempts to move settlers into it and "Judaise" it. The Hamas leader said that his government would not approve of any arrangement that squanders Palestinian national rights on Jerusalem. Hamas will not endorse any political solution that excludes Jerusalem.
With regards to Gaza, Haniyeh said that the ongoing blockade aims at forcing his government to its knees to make it turn a blind eye to flawed political settlements. "We intend to disappoint all those who want to force us, through blockade, to make political concessions. This is why my government places reconstruction at the top of its agenda, for we have to repair the destruction caused by the [Israeli] aggression."
Haniyeh said that the conference held lately in Istanbul to discuss the means of reconstructing Gaza has managed to collect $0.5 billion, which is now held in a special fund in Turkey. Haniyeh said he called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to intercede with Turkey's friends, including Israel, to make sure that the funds reach Gaza.
Finding money is not the main problem, Haniyeh said. The biggest obstacle to reconstruction is the continued closure of crossing points. Haniyeh said that Israel is not interested in rehabilitating Gaza. In fact, it is trying to use the destruction it caused as leverage through which to blackmail his government and the resistance into making political concessions.
Meanwhile, a key figure of the PLO has voiced support for Hamas on the matter of elections. Asaad Abdel-Rahman, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that the PLO would not be "complete" without representatives of both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad joining its ranks.
Abdel-Rahman wants the Palestinian National Council to be re-elected through proportional representation. Voting for the council should take place not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but outside Palestine as well. The signing of the Oslo Accords was the seed from which Palestinian dissent has grown, he said. Since signing, the Oslo Accords have served to divide the Palestinians and stunt their representative institutions.
At the moment, Abdel-Rahman admitted, both the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council are of questionable legitimacy. "We need to reform both institutions in order to restore legitimacy and unity."
The Weekly has learned that representatives of the Egyptian government are currently drafting proposals to address all unresolved issues involving Hamas and Fatah, such as elections and political detentions. According to well-informed Palestinian sources, the Egyptian government intends to invite all Palestinian factions to a dialogue after Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Egyptian officials have told both Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, chief of the Hamas political bureau, that the next meeting should be decisive. If it fails, all attempts at mediation would be abandoned.
Hamas and several Palestinian factions have previously rejected proposals made by Egypt, some accusing Cairo of taking sides with Abbas. For now, all signs indicate that Hamas and Fatah are on a collision course. Abbas and his supporters are hoping that Hamas will crumble under the weight of the siege. And Hamas is hoping that Fatah will become popularly discredited. As things stand, the gap between the two biggest Palestinian groups appears unbridgeable.
September 11, 2009
While Cairo issues its ultimatum for inter-Palestinian reconciliation, Ismail Haniyeh speaks to Saleh Al-Naami in Gaza about the role of Hamas in the upcoming elections
"A recipe for separation." These were the words Ismail Haniyeh used to describe the plan to hold Palestinian legislative and presidential elections on 25 January. Earlier, Mahmoud Abbas said that the elections would go ahead even if Hamas refused to take part. Al-Ahram Weekly met Haniyeh in Gaza last week and heard that elections should be a two-way street.
"Although elections are the only way to rotate power, we believe that certain guarantees should be met in order for elections to go ahead in a healthy manner. A minimum of requisites should be met in order to avert a repetition of the recent elections, when everyone made a point of punishing the Palestinian people for their democratic choice." There is no guarantee that fair elections can be held under the present circumstances, Haniyeh stated.
"What kind of elections are they talking about at a time when the leaders and activists of Hamas are being detained by the security forces of [Prime Minister] Fayyad and Israel? How can elections be held under repression and fear?" he asked.
Haniyeh warned of holding the elections in the West Bank alone, describing the move as a "national crime". Certain people, some of them Palestinians, are acting with "no regard" for the national interests of the people, he remarked. However, he admitted that certain leaders in Fatah, as well as some Arab governments, are trying to dissuade the PA from going solo with the elections.
"There are some people who are trying to use the sessions of [inter-Palestinian] dialogue to trick the Palestinians... They think that they can outsmart the Palestinian people and their leaders. They think they can do things to harm the Palestinian national cause. But they are quite mistaken," Haniyeh stated.
The Gaza-based prime minister lashed out at what he called the "selectiveness and double standards" of those who want to hold legislative and presidential elections without the consent of Hamas. "Fatah and Hamas, as well as the rest of Palestinian factions, have agreed to restructure the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] on a sound basis. We have agreed to hold new elections for the Palestinian National Council. We have agreed to re-elect the leaders of the PLO. Why are they not interested in holding the National Council elections?" Haniyeh said that the holding of elections for the National Council was a "primary condition" for rehabilitating the PLO.
Haniyeh, who has a reputation of being a level-headed man who shuns wild impulses, told the Weekly that the urge to hold presidential and legislative elections in January is related to the initiative US President Barack Obama intends to launch during UN General Assembly meetings this month. According to Haniyeh, the plan Obama is likely to propose subscribes fully to the Israeli point of view.
Haniyeh called on the Obama administration to distance itself from the Israeli vision of a solution. He said that the Obama administration must "through deeds and not just words introduce the changes it had promised in international relations. No US initiative to settle the conflict can succeed if it were based on Zionist views and guided by Israel's compass." Washington's belief that a temporary halt of settlement building should be rewarded by normalisation is unfortunate, he adds. Indeed, it is a sign that the Obama administration is not serious about resolving the conflict in an objective manner.
Haniyeh said that the restoration of domestic Palestinian unity is essential in the face of Israeli measures in Jerusalem. He added that Jerusalem is coming under brutal attempts to move settlers into it and "Judaise" it. The Hamas leader said that his government would not approve of any arrangement that squanders Palestinian national rights on Jerusalem. Hamas will not endorse any political solution that excludes Jerusalem.
With regards to Gaza, Haniyeh said that the ongoing blockade aims at forcing his government to its knees to make it turn a blind eye to flawed political settlements. "We intend to disappoint all those who want to force us, through blockade, to make political concessions. This is why my government places reconstruction at the top of its agenda, for we have to repair the destruction caused by the [Israeli] aggression."
Haniyeh said that the conference held lately in Istanbul to discuss the means of reconstructing Gaza has managed to collect $0.5 billion, which is now held in a special fund in Turkey. Haniyeh said he called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to intercede with Turkey's friends, including Israel, to make sure that the funds reach Gaza.
Finding money is not the main problem, Haniyeh said. The biggest obstacle to reconstruction is the continued closure of crossing points. Haniyeh said that Israel is not interested in rehabilitating Gaza. In fact, it is trying to use the destruction it caused as leverage through which to blackmail his government and the resistance into making political concessions.
Meanwhile, a key figure of the PLO has voiced support for Hamas on the matter of elections. Asaad Abdel-Rahman, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that the PLO would not be "complete" without representatives of both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad joining its ranks.
Abdel-Rahman wants the Palestinian National Council to be re-elected through proportional representation. Voting for the council should take place not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but outside Palestine as well. The signing of the Oslo Accords was the seed from which Palestinian dissent has grown, he said. Since signing, the Oslo Accords have served to divide the Palestinians and stunt their representative institutions.
At the moment, Abdel-Rahman admitted, both the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council are of questionable legitimacy. "We need to reform both institutions in order to restore legitimacy and unity."
The Weekly has learned that representatives of the Egyptian government are currently drafting proposals to address all unresolved issues involving Hamas and Fatah, such as elections and political detentions. According to well-informed Palestinian sources, the Egyptian government intends to invite all Palestinian factions to a dialogue after Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Egyptian officials have told both Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, chief of the Hamas political bureau, that the next meeting should be decisive. If it fails, all attempts at mediation would be abandoned.
Hamas and several Palestinian factions have previously rejected proposals made by Egypt, some accusing Cairo of taking sides with Abbas. For now, all signs indicate that Hamas and Fatah are on a collision course. Abbas and his supporters are hoping that Hamas will crumble under the weight of the siege. And Hamas is hoping that Fatah will become popularly discredited. As things stand, the gap between the two biggest Palestinian groups appears unbridgeable.
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