The US-backed Middle East peace road map is "a big trap", according to a leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. "We are facing a big trap. I urge brother [Palestinian Prime Minister] Abu Mazen not to be deceived," Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal said. Speaking to Qatar's Al Jazeera television network, Mr Meshaal is accusing the Israeli Prime Minister of "seeking to implement only the first phase of the road map in order to strike the Palestinian resistance".
| "I can see that, even if it is too subtle for the rest of you. But take my word for it..." |
Mr Sharon, who has lodged 15 objections to the road map, extracted a high price from the United States for his commitment to the plan, which envisages the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. His endorsement came on Friday only after a public pledge from US Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to address Israel's concerns over the plan. But the Palestinians also say they have received assurances from the United States that the plan will be applied without changes. Before Israel makes any move, Mr Sharon has insisted Abu Mazen disarm militant factions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, who have been at the forefront of the 32-month-old intifada against Israeli occupation.
| And that simply ain't gonna happen... |
Abu Mazen failed, during a meeting in Gaza City with Hamas's top leadership, to convince the Islamist movement to call a halt to attacks on Israel. |