Palestinian factions DFLP, PFLP attempt to mediate between Hamas, Fatah
Rival factions at odds since Hamas' Gaza takeover in June; Haniyeh: Hamas doesn't plan to take over W. Bank.
By The Associated Press Tags: Ismail Haniyeh Hamas Gaza West BankThe leader of radical Palestinian group Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said Sunday that his faction and another hardline faction are trying to mediate between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas.
Nayef Hawatmeh, Secretary-General of the DFLP, told reporters on Sunday that he, together with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was mediating between the rival parties.
He added that the two Damascus-based groups have proposed a ten-point mediation plan to bring Fatah and Hamas to the negotiating table.
The plan calls on Hamas to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip, which the militant group wrested from Fatah last July in violent clashes. The violent takeover prompted Abbas to fire the Hamas-led government and replace it with a cabinet of moderates in the West Bank. Each side has accused the other of being illegitimate.
The plan also requires both parties to end media incitement campaigns and stop arrests to prepare the ground for talks.
Finally, the plan calls for new presidential and parliamentary elections as well as an investigation into clashes between the two groups.
Hawatmeh said the plan was submitted to Hamas and Fatah officials last month and that the DFLP and PFLP were still waiting for a response.
In July, Israel agreed to Abbas' request to allow Hawatmeh to enter the West Bank for a meeting of a top Palestine Liberation Organization policy-making body, a step that Abbas hoped would provide him with added legitimacy among Palestinians. Hawatmeh then shunned the meeting, saying he rejects Israeli conditions.
Haniyeh: Hamas has no intention of taking over the West Bank
The head of the Hamas government in Gaza said Sunday that the Islamic militant group has no intention of taking over the West Bank by force and is ready to resume dialogue with its political rival Abbas.
However, deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas also launched a scathing verbal attack on Abbas' rival government in the West Bank, saying it has persistently tried to undermine Hamas' rule and even cooperated with Israel in tightening a blockade of Gaza.
Haniyeh delivered a 90-minute speech to hundreds of supporters at a Gaza City convention center.
Hamas enforced a new policy, barring journalists who did not obtain a Gaza government press card from covering the event. Most journalists inside the hall were from Hamas-affiliated media, while others, including representatives of foreign news organizations, left after being denied entry. Some followed Haniyeh's speech on TV.
After the June takeover, Israel furthered tightened its blockade of Gaza, allowing only basic supplies and medicine in, and enabling only humanitarian hardship cases to leave.
Haniyeh on Sunday accused the West Bank government of cooperating with Israel. "Palestinian politicians were involved in tightening the siege of Gaza," he said, without referring to Abbas by name.
He also said Hamas activists were being systematically persecuted by Abbas' security forces in the West Bank. In recent months, hundreds of Hamas activists have been detained, and the West Bank government has closed Hamas-linked charities and tried to dry up funding for the group.
Haniyeh said Hamas would not hand over its weapons in the West Bank, adding that "anyone who believes he can erase this great movement from the history of our people is completely mistaken."
Yet he denied that Hamas is plotting to take over the West Bank by force. Last week, a Hamas leader in Gaza had caused an uproar among Abbas' aides when he said Hamas activists would one day pray at Abbas' headquarters in the West Bank, as they had done in Gaza.
"I want to emphasize here that all the reports that we want to repeat what happened in Gaza in the West Bank are baseless, and this is not going to happen," Haniyeh said.
Haniyeh also offered to resume talks with Abbas on a national unity government. Abbas has said he would only do so if Hamas apologizes and returns Gaza's security installations to his forces.
"We consider Hamas to be part of the Palestinian people and we are ready for dialogue if it backs off from its coup," Abbas said Sunday.
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Deposed Palestinian Authority prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. (AP) |
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Hamas is willing to go very far to avoid peace with Israel and make sure a Palestinian state doesn't come into existence. Even as far as making up with Fatah. But I think Abbas has not yet milked Israel for what it's worth. The key thing is to keep giving more to the West Bank and make sure conditions worsen in Gaza. That's the only way to play the two Palestinian parties off each other. Ultimately Abbas will realize that he passed the point of no return- that going back to terror means losing. Then the Palestinian state can appear in some part of the West Bank, conditions permitting. Gaza can join later once Haniyeh and his top 2000-3000 officers are dead. Also, Israel should resume its policy of targeted assassinations, but only after the November meeting. Abbas will then know what he is risking for reneging on his promises to Israel.
he is also a butt licker, hence the reason hamas is prefered more than fatah, fatah is corrupt like yasser arafat, thinking only of himself and not his people, abbas, your a disgrace to your people.you will learn that trying to talk to israel is like talking to a brick wall, good luck, your gonna need every bit of it.
that Israel must exist to protect the Jews from Jew-haters like you. Are you a Holocaust "revisionist" as well? I thought so. Eretz Israel chi vkiam!
No US president can possibly afford to pressure israel into allowing a palestinian state if Islamic terrorists like Hamas are involved. Probably not much chance of a palestinian state vert soon anyway, but this would kill it for sure. It doesn't matter if it is Bush or Hilary, US president could not politically survive it they dealt Hamas or tried to force Israel to deal with Hamas. Palestinian people have a choice-nationalism or islamicism. Until they totally reject islamicism and acccept secular nationalism, there will be no palestinian state in the current lifetime of any palestinian.
is both a Resistance Movement& a grassroots party.Their close links with the people led to their election victory.fatah recognises this & is attacking Hamas' social orgs. in the West Bank.At that stage the Resistance part takes over.It's a back & forth and Hamas is therefore quite unique as a political phenomenon.This is their strength.
your news from?Even the zionists aren't quite saying that Haniyeh personally threw someone off the roof during the Gaza takeover.Your fatah guy who openly boasted of kiling hamas men & the video shown(to foreign journalists)of young Hamas men being beaten to death by the dahlan thugs all were guilty.They tried to flee to Egypt.He was shot while escaping& one of his aids in crime was taken and pushed over to his death.fatah responded & killed someone in similar fashion.Although,not to be condoned all this happened in the heat of a battle.Your silly attempt to tar Haniyeh & all of Hamas is quite revealing!Gaza now knows a law & order that it had not known while your guys were operating there& still are,trying to stir up chaos.And all this while the siege of Gaza(a crime in international law!)goes on.Dutch:many people are fast coming round to your point of view.Today's reports are about 3 civilians being killed by IDF& the hypocritical quislings in the west bank are bleeping about it!
You are seeing the game "BAD COP,. GOOD COP being played.
No one is going to win this war. Instead someone is going to lose it. The question is: who will the loser be? Israel? Bush? Hamas? Fatah?
But Sheherezade had an interesting tale! which is more than can be said for Haniyeh.
What reason had our leaders, not to want to expand Israel's political advantage in the West Bank, when the opportunity presented itself?
..Fath in Gaza. Recal that Saudi Arabia brokered a negotiated agreement between Hamas and Fath to form a coalition government. He waited for an opportunity to dispose of Fatah partner in the PA government. In retrospect he never abonden Hamas pplan to rule aloneAlthough Hamas got 60% of the vote and Fata got 40% because of the political situation (No one wanted to deal witha PA government run exclusively by the terror organization Hamas) Haniye dressed up in a sheeps sking" to foll everyone. At the opportunate moment Hamas, struck killing 360 Fath loyalist in Gaza, including the tevhnique of disposing from the roof Fath loyalists) He is now scheming to do the same with WB. When the opportunity comes Hams will not hesitate to repat the Gaza Style putch.There will be no viable Fatah or any other opposition then.Democracy by putch in stages are Hamas goal. Once Gaza and WB are under Hamas full control Qassams will rain on Sharon Region and rockets will hit Tel Aviv. Full war will erupt
This Haniyeh should be in jail.He is ruining the lives of Gazans.
yes you have a point.... if the peace process is a success, hamas and the rest will fall by the way side. but will israel and its patron, the us of a, sign up to a viable peace deal? a deal which is just and fair? ..... because no deal which seeks to let israel have its cake and eat it too ,will survive.... and that means a stronger hamas. the ball's in israels court..... is it too much to expect israel to drop its greed for true peace?... lets wait and see
The 'iron law of oligarchy' is a political theory, first developed by the German syndicalist sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 book, Political Parties. It states that all forms of organization, regardless of how democratic or autocratic they may be at the start, will eventually and inevitably develop into oligarchies. The reasons for this are the technical indispensability of leadership, the tendency of the leaders to organize themselves and to consolidate their interests; the gratitude of the led towards the leaders, and the general immobility and passivity of the masses.
Abbbas and his puppet government has been a disgrace cooperating with the corrupt Israeli government and the US against them and undermining their efforts. He has lost my respect. Little wonder why Fatah lost the election too and don't deserve to represent the Palestinian people as the election out showed. Dutch
because we are as naive as you assume we are. What reason would you have not to want to expand your political advantage to the West Bank if the opportunity presented itself?
Jane, The truth of the matter is the world is fed up with the Zionists trying to pin the blame on the Islamic world for the unrest their aggression is causing in the Palestinian territories and in the region. If Israelis can't get along their neighbors they have no business being in the Middle East. There is no need for a Jewish state today and it has already caused too much suffering. Get out of the territories or out of the MIddle East. That's the bottom line today. Dutch
If France, Belgium, Switzerland and Holland maintain their democracies then they will be non-democracies and ruled by Sharia within 25 years and perhaps less in some cases. The US and the UK are not democracies because one is simply given the choice to choose between two or three parties and the individual can't even come close to choosing what he wants. Yep, democracies are either dead or dying. As for Musharraf, it is hard to imagine how bad things will get if he goes under .. Certainly not a good time to be a 'democrat' .. :-) Mike
It does not matter how far Mr. Abbas sticks his head up the Israeli ass, he will still get nothing but the bad taste. The Israeli government is not even willing to remove the road blocks, the outposts that itself considers illegal, and he is hoping for Santa to give him an independent state and an end to the conflict? Dream on. If he has any kind of honor he and his cronies would pack their bags and just leave. Southern France is a nice place to go, they can spend the millions they stole in Monte Carlo.
Really I am sure you can see the handwriting on the wall. Hamas is finished. All of Haniyeh littlew outbursts still show hes knows hes defeated. Its just a matter of time. Maybe one day he will wake up and realize the peace process passed him by and as for now he really is insignificant. The Gaza Reservationand Terrorist Preserve is crumbling on it's own. Even the Pals in Gaza will wake up at some point.
Haniyeh would pull the same stunt in a heart beat to the West Bank if given a chance. The only thing that should happen is Haniyeh should be targeted by the Israeli's. Hes a dog, a liar, a terrorist. Hamas should be put under so much strainthat they collaspe from within. Haniyeh says Hamas is a great movement He must mean a bowel movement because all the world sees of Hamas are Thugs,Theives,Petty Criminals, and Terrorist. Its just a matter of time till Hamas is just a chapter in history books. Their is no future for the Pals who back Hamas.
.... the way abbas is going and the way israel/usa are conducting themselves.... the west bank will go the hamas way on its own hamas just has to sit back and wait for the w bank to fall into their lap.
See name calling is funny.
he should go to school... they'll teach him that smart people know what they dont know
the tales of sheherezade have nothing on arabs another 1000 tall tales to go !
this reminds me about the pact hitler made with stalin.... and then attacked. stupid palestinians
"Abbas has ordered a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank, arresting dozens of activists in recent months." Sounds like what's going on in Pakistan, and all with the blessings (and orders?) of the Bush Administration! Bush must be proud of his little democrats - Musharraf, Mubarak, Abbas, Karzai, etc. They are truely spots of light on the imginary Democracy Blvd!
We know that Hamas are nothing more than lying, murdering thugs and nothing they say is believable even to fellow Muslims. They and the rest of radical Islam are being defeated world wide and they know it so now they are trying to lie their way into some kind of acceptability. The world has tasted their "truth" and it tastes like fundamentalist totalitarianism.
Did he say it before or after he threw a political adversary off a rooftop ? Why does Haaretz even publish what these lying scumbags think. Hopefully when Israel finds its balls again, this one and the rest of them will be in hell.