Last update - 01:34 12/09/2006
Indirect recognition, surrender of power
By Danny Rubinstein
While Hamas made a few concessions to enable a Palestinian unity government to be established, it is doubtful that these will be sufficient to completely end the embargo that has been imposed on the Palestinian government since February and allow the start of diplomatic negotiations with Israel.
A good example is the issue of recognizing the state of Israel, which is one of three conditions that the Middle East Quartet posed for recognizing the Hamas government (the others are renouncing violence and accepting previous agreements between Israel and the PLO). In the current draft of the unity government agreement, the Hamas leadership agrees to recognize "the existing political reality in the region," but evades saying that it recognizes Israel.
Explaining why Hamas is not willing to unequivocally state that it recognizes Israel, Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for the organization in the Gaza Strip, said that "we would like to have the embargo lifted, but we will not surrender to external dictates and we will not agree to sacrifice the interests and rights of the Palestinian people."
Ismail Haniyeh, who will remain prime minister in the new government, made similar arguments. He wondered whether previous Palestinian governments, which did recognize Israel, had benefited in any way: Did the Palestinians move closer to establishing a state with Jerusalem as its capital? Were prisoners released? Did refugees go home?
Regarding the condition that previous agreements be recognized, the new government's position is also vague. Taken from the Prisoners' Document (a joint manifesto by Hamas and Fatah leaders in Israeli prisons), it states that the new government will accept both previous agreements and the Arab League's Beirut initiative of 2002 (recognition of Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a solution to the refugee issue), "as long as they serve Palestinian interests." So what happens if someone thinks that they do not serve Palestinian interests?
Even on the issue of a complete cessation of violence, the new Palestinian government's stance is unclear. All attacks inside Israel will stop, starting with the Qassam rocket attacks, but a green light is given for continued operations against the occupation - in other words, in the West Bank.
So where are the Hamas concessions? Hamas has surrendered a major center of power, and it is reasonable to predict that Hamas ministers will not have a majority in the cabinet.
Senior Palestinian sources also confirmed that as part of the deal, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will be freed in return for the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including the Hamas ministers and legislators arrested soon after Shalit was abducted on June 25.
The main reason for Hamas' acquiescence is the Palestinian Authority's financial dire straits under its control. Polls have shown the first serious drop in its popularity since it came to power in February's parliamentary elections.