| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Haniyeh says road to Palestinian dialogue looks 'impassable' |
| 2008-09-25 |
| Deposed Palestinian Premier Ismail Haniyya cast doubt Wednesday on Egyptian-brokered Palestinian unity talks between his Hamas movement and President Mahmoud Abbas' rival Fatah party. "What is happening on the ground in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank indicates that the road to dialogue is impassable and faces major obstacles," Haniyya, who now heads a rump government in the Gaza strip, said in a statement. "There is one hand asking for dialogue and another hand holding a knife behind its back," he added. The two main Palestinian movements have been bitterly divided since Hamas won democratic elections and formed a government in 2006. A power struggle ensued as Israel and its Western allies tried to force Hamas out of office, eventually descending into street battles in June 2007. The divisions deepened when Hamas fighters routed their Fatah rivals in Gaza, prompting Abbas to depose the Hamas-led Cabinet and appoint a replacement by decree. On Tuesday, Fatah agreed to an Egyptian proposal to create a new Palestinian "unity government" acceptable to the international community and welcomed the idea of dispatching Arab forces to Gaza to help implement it. The proposal appeared to be a non-starter because such a government would have to include strong representation from Hamas, which Israel, the United States and other Western powers refuse to have truck with because they regard it as a "terrorist" organization. Hamas was to send a delegation to Cairo in the coming weeks to discuss the plan, but it was far from clear whether the Islamist movement - which has always opposed the presence of foreign forces in Gaza - would agree to it. Israel and the West have blacklisted Hamas and boycotted Palestinian governments that include the movement. Abbas has said he would meet with Hamas leaders, but only after they return Gaza to his control. Hamas has refused to relinquish control of Gaza but said it would meet Abbas without preconditions. |
| Posted by:Fred |