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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Palestinian unity™ talks snag on key security post | |
| 2007-03-13 | |
| Oh-oh. Couldn't see this coming... GAZA, March 13 (Reuters) - Negotiations over a Palestinian unity government™ have become bogged down over who will serve as interior minister with control over security services, sources close to the talks said on Tuesday. Their version of gun control. Control the guns, make the rules... Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah was scheduled to resume talks with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in the Gaza Strip later in the day. Last week both sides said they were on the verge of announcing an agreement. So close, they can smell the Euros... But a source close to the talks said ahead of Tuesday's meeting that the interior ministry dispute had become a "real obstacle" to a final deal. Under the agreement reached in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, last month, Hamas will choose who serves as interior minister but Abbas has a veto. So far, Abbas has rejected several of Hamas's candidates for the post and Hamas has balked at 12 names proposed by Abbas. Him? No. He'll want to kill me. Him? No. He'll want to kill me. Him? No. He'll want to kill me. Him? No. He'll want to kill me.
Any bets? "Interior minister is still a problem," Tayyeb Abdel-Rahim, an aide to Abbas, told reporters in Ramallah. If Abbas rejects the new Hamas candidates, it will take Hamas time to draw up another list, a Hamas source said. "It will be up to the president. Hamas wants to end this task as soon as possible," the source told Reuters. That sounds "ominous". Hope Mahmoud's wearing his bulletproof underwear. The other key cabinet positions, including finance and foreign ministers, have been settled. Because the guy in charge of the guns can just tell them what he wants. The unity government™ agreement contains a vague promise to "respect" previous Israeli-Palestinian pacts. But it does not commit the incoming government to abide by those pacts, nor to recognise Israel and renounce violence as demanded by Quartet partners the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. Kinda like...now. Haniyeh said after Friday prayers the unity government could be unveiled as early as Monday or Tuesday. Abbas said on Thursday the unity government™ was "99 percent" agreed. Palestinian Unity: 1/131072 Miles Palestinian Unity: 1/262144 Miles Palestinian Unity: 1/524288 Miles Palestinian Unity: 1/1048576 Miles Palestinian Unity: ... | |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #1 this is a macro, right? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-13 18:19 |