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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Cairo: US, Europe should deal with any gov't Palestinians agree on |
| 2009-03-19 |
| Egypt has been urging Europe and the US to deal with whatever government is agreed on by the rival Palestinian factions negotiating in Cairo, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "We have been adopting this position in the past weeks in order to allow for a different dynamic altogether," Hossam Zaki said. "We want the Europeans and the United States to deal with this government formed by the Palestinians and not to put obstacles in this domain and repeat the mistakes of the past. This is what Egypt is trying to do." "You have to deal with the government and accept what the Palestinians are accepting," Zaki said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this month that America's conditions with respect to Hamas "have not and will not change." The Islamist organization must renounce violence, recognize Israel and agree to abide by previous agreements entered into by the PLO, she said. When asked whether Egypt thought Israel would recognize a government that included Hamas without the movement recognizing the State of Israel, Zaki replied: "I don't know and the issue is not whether Israel lives with it....This is not the main concern. Israel is the occupying power. It doesn't have to be accommodated on each and every thing." Hamas and Fatah have been trying to reconcile and form a national unity government. However, they have been wrangling over how to address past Palestinian agreements with Israel. The formation of a PA unity government is seen as key to moving ahead with reconstruction in Gaza after Israel's recent offensive there. Egypt has been mediating the talks, which have hinged on whether Hamas has to "commit" itself to past PLO agreements with Israel or if it could just "respect" them. The language is sensitive because Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, is wary of wording that could convey an implicit recognition of Israel. The main issue, Zaki said, was to allow the PA to form a government of consensus and for it to be accepted by the international community. Zaki said that after the Palestinians agreed on a unity government in 2006, the West refused to deal with it and radicalization ensued. "The dynamics that followed showed that this has put more extremism in the ranks of the government, and in the Authority and in public opinion in Palestine," he said. "This mistake should not be repeated again." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 we deal with who we choose to deal with - ask Fidel |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-19 18:18 |
| #2 “..the West refused to deal with it and radicalization ensued…” When one is logically impaired backwards logic starts to make sense. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-03-19 14:32 |
| #1 US, Europe should deal Dealing with "Palestinians" is IDF's business. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-19 03:52 |