Palestine: Hamas & Fatah Battle Over Legitimacy of Legislative Council

On Monday, Hamas and Fatah officials exchanged accusations and condemnations over the status of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council.

According to the Palestinian basic law, the four-year term for the PLC ends on Monday. Hamas, which won elections in Gaza in January 2006, declares that until a new election is held, the council is still legal. Fatah insists that there must be an immediate election to have a legal council.

Azzam al-Ahmad, head of Fatah party block in the parliament, said in a press statement: "According to the Palestinian basic constitution, al-Dewik is not anymore the speaker of the council. The only person who is authorized to call...a special session for the parliament is President Mahmoud Abbas."

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On the other hand, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas movement's spokesman, told Xinhua that " the current parliament will be legal until new elections are held and the new elected legislatures do the sworn-in", adding "Hamas is not afraid of holding the elections, but only after ending the current division and reconciliation."

Zuhri, indeed, went one step further: "The problem is not whether the parliament is legal or illegal, because according to the law, it is legal until the new elections are held. But the problem is with Abbas, who is not anymore representing the Palestinians after his mandate expired."

Palestine: Conflicting Statements from Hamas on Israel's Right to Exist

Following a meeting in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams on Wednesday, Aziz Dwaik, a Hamas senior representative and the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the West Bank, said that Hamas has accepted Israel’s right to exist and would be prepared to alter its charter.

There have been two developments since then. Firstly, there have been contradictory signals from Hamas, with some officials saying the group accepts the two-state solution but only as a temporary measure and others declaring that they accept Israel's right to exist and want dialogue.

Palestine: Hamas & Fatah Battle Over Legitimacy of Legislative Council
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Mahmoud Ramahi, another top Hamas operative in the West Bank, said that his movement was indeed willing to accept an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, but only on a temporary basis and without recognizing Israel's right to exist.



Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas representative in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that his movement was considering the possibility of changing its charter. In an interview with the Saudi daily Okaz, Hamad said that the Hamas charter, like any other document, may be subject for changes and discussions. However, Hamad also stressed that "accepting" Israel did not mean that Hamas would "recognize" the Jewish state.

In contrast, Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman from the Gaza Strip, said that his movement was not seeking the destruction of Israel. Bardaweel spoke to a Hamas-affiliated Web site:

There is a huge difference between our demand to restore the Palestinian people's rights and the annihilation of Israel. We haven't said that [we want] to destroy Israel, but we are striving to restore our people's rights and refugees' right to return to their dwellings and land from which they were deported.

Meanwhile, the rival Palestinian organisation Fatah tried to exploit Hamas' apparent concession to Israel.. "The true face of Hamas has finally been exposed by Dwaik's remarks to the British millionaire," said Ahmad Assaf, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank. Asaf continued:

Hamas is seeking recognition of the international community at the expense of the Palestinians' interests and national rights. In one voice directed toward our people and Arabs and Muslims, Hamas is saying that it's a resistance movement. In another voice directed toward the international community, Hamas is talking about its readiness to recognize Israel and accept a long-term hudna [temporary truce].

At the same time, a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah condemned initiatives by some EU citizens and officials to talk to Hamas, accusing them of "ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip". He said:

Meetings between Hamas and Westerners is undermining efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Those who are trying to legitimize Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel.

The Palestinian Authority has also sent an aggressive signal, as security agents on Sunday arrested six men who work as aides to Dwaik. The Hamas representative condemned the arrest of his aides as "an act of piracy" and "an assault on his parliamentary immunity". He also warned that the arrests could harm efforts by some Arab countries to achieve "national reconciliation" between Hamas and Fatah.

Palestine: The Reaction to A "More Committed" Washington

In an interview on Friday, Fatah Central Committee member and former security commander Muhammad Dahlan said that peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel will resume in the coming week.

Dahlan added that, following intense contacts among Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and the Quartet (United Nations, Russia, European Union, and United States), Israel will accept the new proposal. He continued, "We hope the struggle of chairman Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) against the previous negotiating mechanism will bear fruit already in the coming weeks."

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When asked about demands before renewal of negotiations, Dahlan underlined the significance of a settlement freeze and the acceptance of pre-1967 borders. Dahlan said:

All we seek is a year or 10-month building freeze, during which a permanent agreement will be achieved. Palestinians will not accept any manipulation on this issue [final borders].

At the end of this "optimism", there was also a warning. Dahlan said, "The Palestinian people prefer to be cautious when it comes to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," and he declared, "The current settlement [activity] in Jerusalem is aimed at taking it [the city's status] off the negotiating table".

Israel-Palestine Analysis: Change" in the Air Over Peace Talks?

Following claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to finalizing an agreement with the Obama Administration for peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, the PA gave its approval for such talks this weekend.

One PA official stated that Netanyahu was now apparently ready to recognize the pre-1967 borders as the basis for future talks and was ready to swap territory between the two countries. He added, "We're beginning to hear new things from Israel. For the first time an Israeli government is willing to negotiate with us on the basis of the 1967 borders, and this is an encouraging move."

"Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could be relaunched as early as February," added another PA official in Ramallah.

Meanwhile, Egyptian sources told the Cairo-based daily Al-Ahram on Monday that Barack Obama's administration will put forward a plan whereby Israel would commit itself to the establishment of a Palestinian state within two years of the launch of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.

On Monday, at the press conference following her meeting with Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised greater commitment to achieving a settlement between the PA and Israel:

We know that the Palestinians deserve a state to fulfill their aspirations. The Israelis deserve security to live peacefully side by side with their Palestinian neighbors. The Arab nations have made a very positive contribution in the peace initiative of the Arab League and others. So we’re going to be even more committed this year, and we’re starting this new year with that level of commitment and we’re going to follow through and hopefully we can see this as a positive year in this long process.

On the same day, while addressing lawmakers from his Likud party, Netanyahu said that he sensed "a change in the air":

In recent weeks I have felt that there is a certain change in the air, and I hope that this will mature, allowing the start of the diplomatic process.

We are serious in our intentions to reach a peace agreement.

Israel is ready for a peace process with the Palestinian Authority, without preconditions.

Netanyahu, however, added the caution, "Diplomatic plans said to be in my name that have appeared in the media have no truth."

There is also the standing obstacle of the declaration by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas that there will be no peace talks unless there is a complete freeze on Israeli settlements, both in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas repeated,

We have said and are still saying that at the time when settlement construction is stopped and the international legitimacy is recognized, we will be ready to resume the negotiations."

Our stance is known from the past and our stance remains the same - and in agreement with our brothers in Egypt - which is that we have no objections to negotiations or meetings in principle and we do not set conditions.

And then there was the complication of Israel's foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman hosted Quartet peace envoy Tony Blair and stated that reaching a final-status agreement within two years were unrealistic:

It is important to hold an honest, open dialogue with the Palestinians without sowing delusions that are disconnected with reality and that will only lead to violence and frustration. It is not possible to reach a full agreement within two years.

This is not a realistic goal. We need to begin direct talks without committing to any timeframe.

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly was on the 'silent side' but, at least, was "hopeful":

QUESTION: There’s an unsourced report in the Israeli Hebrew language daily Ma’ariv, and there are a bunch of other reports out there elsewhere, talking about the possibility of an imminent resumption of peace talks between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas under an American plan.

MR. KELLY: I certainly hope so. I hope it’s before that. But whether it’s realistic or not, I can’t say.

MR. KELLY: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: True?

MR. KELLY: Well, first of all, we’re not going to discuss any of the private correspondence or private discussions we have had with either side, including with the Israelis. I mean, you know what our goal is. Our goal is to get the two sides to agree to sit down and resume the talks, and so all of our efforts really are really directed toward that. And it wouldn't – I mean, it’s not appropriate for me to talk about what may or may not have been in any kind of private correspondence.

QUESTION: But are you on the verge of re-launching the resumption of talks?

MR. KELLY: I hope so. But I don’t have any information to announce on that.

QUESTION: I think we’re talking about the same report here, which says that the U.S.’s latest proposal envisions a Palestinian state within two years. The Israelis say that’s unrealistic. Is this a real report? I mean, is it coming from you guys?

MR. KELLY: I don’t really have any information about the specifics of that particular report.

QUESTION: Is it realistic, though, to think that the Palestinians could have a state within a couple of years?

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit was also still "hopeful" about the future. He told reporter following the meeting between Mubarak and Abbas:

Our position is that the [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's] ideas are taking the Israeli position forward.

This is a protracted process and needs patience, clarity and prudence so that the Palestinians do not find themselves in a difficult position.

Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman are going to be in Washington and the U.S. Mideast special envoy George Mitchell is going to be in the Middle East next week. Abbas' last words were that he would postpone any decision on whether or not to restart the talks until he sees what happens during Friday's visit to Washington by the two senior Egyptian officials.

The story continues without a conclusion: is there any "change" except in rhetoric?

Power Politics in Palestine: A More Confident Fatah Today?

Following "positive" steps towards Egypt-Saudi Arabia-brokered peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel, sharper statements have started to come from the former against their rival party, Hamas.

Haaretz reports that, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior member of the Fatah movement, on Sunday dismissed Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal's remarks that the warring Palestinian factions were close to a deal for reconciliation. He said:

If Meshal means what he says, he should go to Egypt and announce his party's commitment to Palestinian reconciliation. We urge Hamas to sign it so that we begin implementing the agreement.

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Meshal had already started his visit to Saudi Arabia as soon as he was briefed about Egypt's Israel-Palestine: Gideon Levy “The Time for Words is Over”"bridge" role reiterated by Israel and the Palestinian Authority following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Cairo. The best destination was Riyadh since it was the only country that could be involved in the process after Egypt. At a meeting with Saudi officials in Riyadh, Meshal said: "We achieved great strides towards achieving reconciliation. We are in the final stages now."

Besides, the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas stated in an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper on Sunday that the PA had "verified information" that Hamas was planning attacks in the West Bank:

They are pushing some people to carry out violent acts in the West Bank. But we won't allow anyone to sabotage our internal security.