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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Deal on Palestinian government stuck |
| 2009-03-20 |
| Egyptian-sponsored Palestinian reconciliation talks are stuck over recognition of Israel and there may be no deal before an Arab summit at the end of this month, a Hamas official said on Wednesday. President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction wants a proposed unity government to honour past agreements with Israel, including the 1993 Oslo accords that recognised the Jewish state. Hamas refuses, official Sami Khater said. A unity government could help accelerate the international effort to rebuild Gaza after the Israeli invasion of the territory was halted in January, and change a policy by Western powers to boycott Hamas. "The Oslo accords recognised Israel. They [Fatah] want this as a condition to form a government of national unity. We say no," Khater, who is a member of Hamas's politburo, told reporters in the Syrian capital. The United Sates, Israel's chief ally, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - which form the quartet of Middle East negotiators - demand that Hamas recognise interim peace accords struck between the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel, renounce armed struggle and recognise Israel. Khater said there was no need to revive discussions on these issues because Hamas had already agreed with Fatah on how to deal with them. He pointed to understandings with Fatah in the last few years that called for negotiations with Israel if the Jewish state agrees to withdraw from land it has occupied since 1967 and resistance focused on peaceful means. "The main issue we are facing is abiding by the agreements made by the PLO, which we interpret as accepting the conditions of the quartet," Khater said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 ISRAELI MIL FORUM > ISLAMIC CLERICS MEET IN TURKEY TO DEMAND NEW JIHAD AGZ ISRAEL IN GAZA; + RUPERT MURDOCH [JPOst]: THE WEST RISES[Lives] OR FALLS [dies] WITH ISRAEL??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-03-20 01:19 |