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Last update - 12:00 09/11/2008
ANALYSIS / When Hamas boycotts Palestinian unity talks, what does it mean?
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Hamas, Israel News, Fatah 

Hamas' announcement on Saturday that it will boycott the reconciliation meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo on Sunday was aimed at Egyptian ears rather than Palestinian ones.

At the summit, the feuding Palestinian factions, especially Hamas and Fatah, were to sign a framework agreement for national reconciliation. Many Palestinians had high hopes for this agreement.

Hamas' image may very well suffer as a result of this perceived sabotage of the reconciliation efforts, but the organization, which fears an Arab-Egyptian trap, prefers to pay a small price now, rather than suffering more massive damage after a deal is signed.
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For Hamas, signing the Egypt-drafted agreement means relinquishing its assets in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian deal stipulates that a unity Palestinian government, headed by someone unaffiliated with either Fatah or Hamas, be established as a first step. This, despite Hamas' victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.

In addition, Hamas was to agree to the extension of Fatah leader Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' term until early presidential and parliamentary elections are held.

For Hamas, one of the most troublesome clauses in the agreement was the reform in the Palestinian security mechanism, which would essentially force the Islamist group to relinquish its control over the Gaza Strip.

In addition, the Egyptian deal stipulates that if one of the sides undermines the reconciliation efforts, the Arab League will dub that group as the saboteurs. Hamas suspect that many in the Arab world want to blame them for the breakdown of the talks, regardless of the actual developments.

Hamas has asked time and time again for amendments in the framework agreement, but has been met with consistent Egyptian refusal. Hamas' demands that Egypt reopen its border crossing with Gaza and release Hamas prisoners were also rejected.

However, it was more convenient for Hamas to justify boycotting the reconciliation meet with other reasons. Officially, the group said that Fatah and Abbas' failure to fulfill their commitment and release Hamas prisoners held in the West Bank ahead of the summit was the reason Hamas would not attend. This claim is strange, seeing as Hamas is still holding Fatah prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Deputy leader of Hamas' political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk tried to appear diplomatic on Saturday when he told the Associated Press that attending the talks are not the express goal, but rather the reunification of the Palestinian factions. However, he found it difficult to veil his anger, saying that Egypt's approach to reconciliation did not correspond with Hamas' approach.

It appears that Hamas is in no hurry to sign an Egyptian mediated reconciliation paper. As the head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshal, said Saturday, Hamas is waiting to see whether under U.S. president-elect Barack Obama the U.S. will change its policy and agree to talk with Hamas. If so, the international blockade will then be lifted and the Hamas' support among the Palestinian public will grow. Then, Egypt will go back to courting Hamas.

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