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Abbas to give Hamas last chance before dissolving PA
Four Palestinian armed groups on Sunday threatened to target any Palestinian government that recognizes Israel's right to exist and attacked Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for "succumbing" to US pressure. The latest threat came as Abbas was preparing to travel to the Gaza Strip for another round of talks with PA Prime Minister  Ismail Haniyeh over the formation of a joint Hamas-Fatah government. Abbas is demanding that the political program of the proposed government recognize Israel and honor all previous agreements signed between the Palestinians and Israel. Hamas leaders have rejected Abbas's demand, saying they would never join a government that recognizes Israel and the Oslo Accords. PA officials told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas was scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip on Monday to resume talks with Hamas's Haniyeh about the possibility of forming a unity government. According to the officials, this would be Abbas's final attempt to persuade Hamas to change its policies before he dissolves the Hamas-led government and calls early elections. "President Abbas will give Hamas one last chance," said Nabil Amr, a Fatah legislator and adviser to Abbas. "At this stage, all options are open and the door remains open for the formation of a unity government." Amr and other Fatah officials said they did not rule out the possibility that they would initiate a no-confidence vote in parliament against the Hamas-led cabinet if the national unity negotiations failed. They are hoping that such a move would succeed, since more than 20 Hamas legislators are in Israeli prisons. Posted by: Fred 2006-09-25 |
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