Middle East Inside Line: Fatah-Hamas Talks; Israel's "Gesture" in the West Ban

Fatah and Hamas Reunification Talks: On Sunday, Hamas announced that it reached an agreement with its rival Fatah party to hold a meeting next week. The two groups were supposed to mee last week in Damascus, but tension between Syria's President Bashar Assad and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas led to a cancellation, followed by a series of arrests by the rival parties in the Gaza and West Bank.

Though next week's venue is yet be declared, Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said he did not rule out the possibility that the meeting would still be held in the Syrian capital:

Fatah leaders should not waste their time searching for similarities in the political platforms of Hamas and Fatah. The only thing we could have in common is not recognizing Israel’s existence.

In response, Osama Qawasmeh, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, said that Hamas was ready to recognize Israel’s existence if a Palestinian state were to be established in the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip, and eastern Jerusalem.

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Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu Seeks Cabinet Agreement to 2-Month Extension of Settlements Freeze

While Washington has denied that President Obama sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving assurances in return for an extension of the moratorium on settlement expansion in the West Bank, the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted Israeli officials on Monday that Netanyahu has agreed to extend Israel's freeze for 60 days. 

According to rumours, Obama's offer included a continued Israel Defense Forces presence in the Jordan Valley, continued US political and military support with an annual increase of $3 billion, a commitment to veto any anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution in the next year, an agreement not to ask for any more extensions of the freeze, with that the fate of the settlements dealt with only as part of a final status agreement with the Palestinians, a series of guarantees to prevent the smuggling of weapons and missiles into a Palestinian state, and a comprehensive regional defense pact for protection from Iran. 

At a meeting of Likud ministers, Netanyahu hinted at a freeze extension, saying there were "a lot of reports on the subject, most of which are wrong, and we can't deny or correct everything".  He added: "Now there is interest in continuing the peace negotiations... Peace is a vital interest for the State of Israel."

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Video: The Belly-Dancing Israeli Soldier and the Bound Palestinian Woman

UPDATE 5 October: There is also media attention this morning to the vandalism and burning of a mosque by Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Beit Fajjar. Korans were also set on fire in the incident.

I was in two minds about whether to post this clip, which came out on YouTube, was picked up by an Israeli television station --- which has just broadcast a programme on the incident --- and has been reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The episode occurs in the context of other recent cases, including pictures posted by a former Israeli soldier in which she posed beside a bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoner and the arrest of three soldiers for taking photographs of themselves alongside cuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainees.

The Israel Defense Forces have ordered an investigation of the most recent incident.

In the end, I decided to post this not as a specific indictment of the Israeli military --- that can be debated amongst readers --- but as a reminder of what happens when one group, in its occupation, wields power over another, such as the Abu Ghraib case in Iraq.

Watch the video (Warning: May be disturbing to some viewers)....

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Gaza Blockade: Israel Intercepts Jewish Aid Yacht "Irene"

This morning Israel Defense Forces intercepted the "Irene", a Jewish aid boat attempting to break the naval blockade on Gaza. There were no casualties. 

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: "IDF naval forces recently boarded the yacht "Irene", and it is currently being led to the Ashdod seaport along with its passengers."

IDF chief spokesman Avi Benayahu said:

[The aid boat's] entire intention was to generate media attention and [stage] a provocation. This matter is especially regrettable as we are talking about a group of Jews and of Israeli citizens, and even someone who has worn an IDF officer's uniform.