Qatar has come up with a plan to end the infighting between Fatah and Hamas, establish a Palestinian unity government and release captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to the plan, which was presented to him by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani. The foreign minister also presented the plan to Khaled Meshal, the Damascus-based head of Hamas' political bureau, but Hamas' position on the matter is not yet clear.

Palestinian sources said Meshal has agreed to the plan in principle and that Abbas has sent a representative to Meshal to finalize the details. However, senior Hamas officials in Gaza told Haaretz that Hamas had not agreed to the plan.

	Advertisement

According to the Qatari plan, the Palestinian unity government will in effect accept the conditions that Israel and the international community have imposed - recognition of Israel and agreements made with Israel, and an end to violence - which will allow for the renewal of peace talks. The Palestinian government envisioned in the plan will be headed by an independent figure who is not aligned with any Palestinian faction, and will include ministers from Hamas, Fatah and other factions, as well as those not affiliated with any party.

The Qatari plan also calls for a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution and a mutual and simultaneous cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the plan, the government will recognize agreements signed and commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas will join PLO institutions in accordance with the 2005 Cairo agreement, and the new version of the Palestinian National Council will meet within a year. In addition, the plan calls for Shalit to be released as part of a prisoner-exchange deal.

Noam Shalit, the father of the captive soldier, said Tuesday he hoped one of the many suggestions that had been raised would help bring his son home. A Palestinian civil war, he added, would not contribute to the efforts to secure his son's release.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Monday that Israel had agreed to release 900 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women, children and elderly prisoners, as part of a deal to ensure Shalit's release, but Hamas turned down the offer. Egypt threatened Meshal that if an agreement for a prisoner release is not reached by the end of Ramadan, on October 22, the Hamas leader would be held responsible for a wide-scale Israeli military attack in the Gaza Strip.

Fatah: Unity gov't or elections
Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of the Fatah faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, told Haaretz Tuesday that most of the Palestinian factions - not counting Hamas - have agreed to give the political leaders two weeks to reach an agreement on a unity government. If they do not reach an agreement on the matter, he said, Abbas must use his powers to dissolve the government and hold elections. Ahmad said Abbas agreed with this position.

Meanwhile, violence between Fatah and Hamas appeared to be on the wane Tuesday, following two days of clashes in which 12 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. There were a few clashes in the West Bank cities of Nablus and Tul Karm Tuesday, but no violent incidents in the Gaza Strip.

The Fatah military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, has threatened to assassinate top Hamas officials, including Meshal and Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam. The statement came after Hamas members killed Fatah operatives during clashes in Gaza.

An Al-Aqsa Brigades' spokesman said the statement was a "natural reaction" to Seyam's order that Hamas operatives in Khan Yunis confront Fatah security officials who were protesting because they had not received their salaries.