Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided to freeze talks with
the Hamas-led government on forming a national unity one, in a sign
of an intensifying power struggle between Islamic militants and
moderate President Mahmoud Abbas.
The decision was followed by angry exchanges of blames between
Hamas and leaders of Abbas' Fatah Party.
The ruling Hamas movement on Saturday slammed Abbas and the
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)'s decision to stop talks
on forming a unity government.
"We are sorry for this unjust decision which was a shock for
every Palestinian waiting the birth of national unity government,
"Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoom told Voice of Palestine radio.
Abbas' decision came shortly after his official declaration on
Thursday that the dialogue to form a new government reached an
impasse in a joint news conference held in Jericho on Thursday
following a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice.
The following day, Abbas chaired a PLO Executive Committee
meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah and decided to freeze the
dialogue with Hamas.
"The decision to freeze the dialogue with Hamas was made, after
it had been approved that Hamas leaders are not interested in
forming a national unity government," said PLO member Yasser Abed
Rabbo.
Meanwhile, Abed Rabbo said that "there is a real crisis of
governing in the Palestinian National Authority, where our people
suffer from the effects of this crisis, and we must rescue them
from this suffering."
"One of the proposed options to end this crisis is to go for
early legislative and presidential elections, or go for a popular
referendum or breakdown the current government and form a new one,
" said Abed Rabbo.
The sources also said that Abbas instructed the PLO Executive
Committee meeting to form a legal committee, which includes experts
in laws, to study the constitutional sides of any plan he would
decide that doesn't contradict with the Palestinian basic law.
Meanwhile, Abbas' media advisor Nabil Amer said after reviewing
the major obstacles facing the success of the dialogue that so far
not much progress had been achieved.
"The two major obstacles are: the distribution of the new
government portfolios and the political program," Amer said, adding
that "therefore I can't say that there has been any serious
progress achieved in these two basic issues."
The PLO said talks can be resumed only when Prime Minister
Ismail Haneya of Hamas resigns. The PLO embodies all political
factions except the Islamic movements of Hamas and the Islamic
Jihad (Holy War).
Following Abbas' decision to freeze the national unity dialogue,
senior Islamic Hamas leader in Gaza Nizar Rayyan called on
President Abbas "to immediately get back to the negotiations table
" while denying that the talks dead-ended.
"They (Fatah leaders) say that talks had reached to a dead end,
but we (in Hamas) say that the road is still open. Let us get back
to the negotiation table in order to form a national unity
government," said Rayyan.
Palestinian observers warned of a renewal of an internal
fighting between Fatah and Hamas supporters, especially in Gaza
Strip, where Hamas leaders had vowed to go for a very tough
reaction if Abbas breaks down their government.
Hazem Abu Shanab, a Palestinian political analyst even went so
far as saying that a national unity government was not the solution
to the current crisis because of the gap between the two
movements.
"I believe that differences between the two movements or between
Abbas and the leaders of the Hamas-led government are huge. If they
keep going deep into the details, they would never form a national
unity government," said Abu Shanab.
He added that the best solution to end the crisis "is to form a
temporary independent government, to end the Palestinian economic
and daily living difficulties, and then to go for early
presidential and legislative elections."
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)
