The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said on Tuesday that it will boycott the incoming Palestinian unity government, dealing a minor setback to attempts by the rival Fatah and Hamas parties to forge a broad coalition.
| It's usual for all parties to sign on to an agreement except one or two. That way the illusion of some sort of progress is established and the same old carnage can resume even as the ink dries. Then, a few months later, there can be calls to renegotiate the agreement, with the Arab side keeping any concessions they've gotten and the other side giving some more. Failing that, a new Legitimate Right™ is found which simply overrides the agreement. This is not subtle stuff, except to an Arab. |
| The PFLP said it was upset that the deal, signed earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, would respect past peace agreements with Israel. |
The PFLP said it was upset that the deal, signed earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, would respect past peace agreements with Israel. "Our position is to boycott the incoming government," said Jamil Mezhar, a member of the PFLP's central committee. "We voice our protest over the way in which Hamas and Fatah decided in Mecca." The PFLP holds three seats in the Palestinian parliament and had been allocated one seat in the new Cabinet, which is expected to be appointed in the coming weeks. Its decision is expected to have no impact on plans to form the new government. The PFLP, which opposes Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, is labeled a terror group by the United States. |