Palestinian analysts are praising President Mahmoud Abbas for
managing to tame radical Hamas movement as a new national unity
government is finally looming, which they expect to be announced in
days after a meeting between Abbas and designated Prime Minister
Ismail Haneya of Hamas in Gaza.
With the formation of the new government following the Mecca
agreement between Abbas' Fatah and Hamas on Feb. 8, Palestinians
are expecting a lifting a crippling Western embargo imposed on them
since Hamas took office a year ago.
Some local analysts have contributed the prospective happy
ending for all to Abbas, saying that he proved himself a great
strategist by taming the radical Hamas movement by granting it
power with a leash, though through a much devious way.
When Abbas was elected as a new president for the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA) in January 2005, many had doubted whether
he could tame Hamas, considered as the most radical group among all
Palestinian factions.
At that time, after the death of late Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat on Nov. 11, Hamas has been gaining growing political
influence in the Palestinian territories, upstaging its rival Fatah
movement plagued by growing disapproval for its weakness and
corruption.
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"It seems to me that when President Abbas succeeded late leader
Yasser Arafat, he knew and felt that Hamas movement was growing
up," said Hazem Abu Shanab, a Palestinian political analyst from
Gaza.
"Therefore, patient Abbas adopted a strategy that brought the
Palestinians to the current situation: a formation of a national
unity government led by Hamas and includes all the Palestinian
political groups," he added.
However, the option of a unity government was simply not on the
table at that time as Hamas refused to take part in elections.
After winning in elections and became the new Palestinian
president, an assured Abbas decided to clean up the road for Hamas
to participate in the municipal and legislative elections in Gaza
and the West Bank.
"I believe that if late Arafat was alive, he wouldn't have allow
for Hamas to join the elections, but Abbas was very smart simply
because he expected in advance that if he let Hamas join the
elections, it would become less radical and it would be part of the
Palestinian political poem," said Abu Shanab.
Abbas then exerted much leverage on Hamas when it became the
ruling party.
Ahmed Abu Aassi, another Palestinian political analyst from Gaza,
agreed with Abu Shanab.
He said that when the prisoners in Israeli jails issued their
document of accordance, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal to
the pre-1967 borders and the creation of a Palestinian state in the
West Bank and Gaza strip, "it was first rejected by Hamas, but when
Abbas threatened to go for a referendum, Hamas accepted the
document."
Again, when Hamas refused to join the national unity government,
"he (Abbas) threatened to go for early elections or form a new
emergency government, and then Hamas agreed to go to Mecca and to
form a new government," he added.
"In other words, Abbas is smart in that he is holding the stick
from the middle and help the Palestinian people end their suffering
and get their independence," said Abu Aassi.
The annalist held that "Israel, the United States, Europe, Arab
and Islamic countries as well as Hamas and Fatah movements are all
satisfied with his manner and policy. He is pleasing everyone and
never antagonized anyone."
Even when Hamas and Fatah were fighting in Gaza during the last
several months, which left more than 100 Palestinians killed, Abbas
knew exactly what he was after, said the analysts.
This fighting between the two rivals had brought them to Mecca
in Saudi Arabia last month and agreed on national reconciliation
which is leading to the formation of a new national unity
government.
On Wednesday, Abbas, on his way home from an European tour, said
in Jordan that he wanted the new Palestinian national unity
government to meet and be in compliance with the Middle East
Quartet's conditions of renouncing violence, recognizing Israel and
past peace deals with it.
He also told reporters that the European countries he had
visited, including Britain, France, Germany and others, had voiced
their support for the Mecca agreement.
"President Abbas traveled recently to several European and Arab
countries to market Mecca agreement and convince the world that
Hamas today is different from Hamas in the past," said Khalil Abdel
Jabbar, a Palestinian analyst from Ramallah.
He noted that "after the new government is announced within the
coming few days, everything would become more clear, where the new
government would be formed and the embargo would be lifted."
"Then everyone would know that Abbas is the one who managed to
domesticate Hamas movement and allowed it to be part of the
Palestinian decision making," he added.
According to Abdel Jabbar, the letter of designation Abbas
handed to Haneya two weeks ago contains two important clauses: a
commitment to all Arab summits' decisions and a respect of the
signed agreements.
"Commitment to the two clauses would convince the donors to end
the embargo on the former Hamas-led government and would pressure
Israel to lift the closure imposed on the people. I believe all was
Abbas' efforts and achievements," said Abdel Jabbar.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2007)
