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)