Sections Login
The Good Seed
Articles
| Palestinians agree principle of unity government |  |  |  |
| Israel |
| Written by Chris Perver |
| Sunday, 05 November 2006 17:00 |
| Hamas and Fatah have finally come to some sort of agreement over the National Reconciliation Document, which calls for the formation of a unity government. Both terrorist organizations have agreed in principle to the idea and that Prime Minister Haniyeh will not run in new elections, but the details still have to be finalized. The announcement of the deal comes a week after Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Common, Foreign and Security Policy, toured the Middle East searching for his "global and lasting cease-fire", and called on Hamas and Fatah to form a unity government as soon as possible. The unity government will not be lead by Hamas, and as a result will permit the European Union to continue funding the Palestinian government. Quote: ""The choice has been made for the next prime minister," Moussa said. "His name will be presented to President Abbas. A joint committee will be formed to appoint the portfolios and to finalise other details." Mustafa Barghouthi, an independent lawmaker who has been mediating between Hamas leaders and Abbas, confirmed a tentative deal had been made. "There is approval to form a new government headed by a new prime minister," he said. "We are preparing for a meeting between President Abbas and Prime Minister Haniyeh very soon." So it looks like Solana's statecraft has once again paid off... Quote: ""It's being worked very hard at this very moment as we are talking a lot of people are working on this issue (a technocratic government)...we hope to see in not a very long period of time a possibility of that," Javier Solana told reporters in English after arriving in Jordan from Beirut. As we have said before, a Palestinian unity government will not necessarily recognize Israel's right to exist. The 18 point prisoner's document does not call for the recognition of Israel, or the renunciation of violence. Instead it will end fighting between Hamas and Fatah, and focus their attacks on the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Even if the Palestinian Authority government officially recognized Israel's right to exist, Hamas and Fatah themselves still won't, and their ultimate goal is still the destruction of Israel (but don't tell Solana that). |
|
|
|
|
|