| Palestinian president finds control over Hamas The chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in fact the president of the autonomy, Mahmoud Abbas, yesterday handed over the list of the cabinet that intends to form the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for consideration. The head of the PNA said that the PLO executive committee (and Abbas is its chairman) will take up this issue in the next 48 hours, after which the government of Ismail Hanniyeh will need a vote of confidence in the Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority.
It won't be up to parliament - in the January 25 elections, Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats there. And the Palestine Liberation Movement (Fatah), created by Yasser Arafat, has only 45 seats. But Fatah (also headed by Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen) plays a dominant role in the PLO. And since the mid-1960s, it has been a kind of “united front” of the Palestinian national liberation movement.
But Hamas is not part of the PLO, and it should be expected that both the composition and program of its government may be subject to very critical analysis at the organization’s executive committee. After all, Fatah and all other collective members of the PLO (and there are more than a dozen of them) refused to participate in Hanniyeh’s government. This is also because the Hamas program does not say a word about agreeing with the continuation of the peace process begun by the 1993 Oslo agreements between the PLO and Israel. The situation is unlikely to be changed by the fact that in the new cabinet at least 15 of the 24 ministerial portfolios are reserved for Palestinian technocrats.
The new Russian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Jordan (neighboring Israel and Palestine), former special representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for Middle East peacemaking, Alexander Kalugin, doubts the success of the Hamas government. In an interview with Vremya Novostei, the diplomat noted the lack of a “clear economic program” for the movement, which went to the elections under the slogan of “improving the financial situation of the Palestinians.” He is convinced that “refusal to recognize Israel, respect previously reached agreements and the use of terror only lead the situation to a dead end.” “When we received the Hamas delegation (leader of the movement Khaled Mashaal was in Moscow in early March - Ed. ), we tried to convey to them these demands of the international community. However, we did not expect a stunning breakthrough - it did not happen,” the ambassador stated recently in an interview with VN.
The head of the Hamas parliamentary faction, Salah al-Bardwil, tried to remove the emerging government from the possible fire of the PLO. Yesterday he said that Hamas would review all agreements signed with Israel from the point of view of their “compliance with the national interests of the Palestinian people.” But at the same time, “he is not going to turn his back on everything that the previous administration achieved.” But the statements of Mahmoud Zahhar, one of the leaders of Hamas, are well known that the peace agreements reached by the Israelis and Palestinians in 1993 in the Norwegian capital Oslo are “a betrayal of the interests of the Palestinians.” But Mahmoud Zahhar is tipped for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine.
The situation became more complicated after yesterday's seizure of several Palestinian government buildings in the Gaza Strip by militants from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (the armed wing of Fatah) and police sympathizers. The attackers explained their action by the reluctance of the autonomy authorities to fulfill their demands for employment and repayment of wage arrears.
It is unknown whether the discussion of the program for the new cabinet will be completed before the parliamentary elections in Israel on March 28. The new special representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for the Middle East settlement, Sergei Yakovlev, said yesterday that progress in relations between Palestine and Israel can be expected “in the first week of April.” For now, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, leader of the centrist Kadima party, said yesterday that if he wins, he will continue his policy of non-recognition of Hamas and its government unless their attitude towards Israel changes.
“Russia’s policy line is to establish a dialogue with those who come to power through legal means,” Alexander Kalugin told VN. According to him, "Hamas' victory reflects the will of the Palestinian people." The diplomat headed a delegation of Russian observers at the elections in Palestine and believes that “everything was done honestly.” “What reason could we have not to work with them? We need these contacts,” concluded our interlocutor. Albert GALEEV, Amman - Moscow, Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN |
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