Washington plans to curtail contacts with President Mahmoud
Abbas's Fatah faction and other parties if they join a Palestinian
government led by the militant group Hamas, Western diplomatic
sources said on Monday.
The warning came as Fatah officials held another round of
inconclusive coalition talks in Gaza with Hamas, which defeated
long-dominant Fatah in January elections.
Fatah has so far said it has no intention of joining the new
government, which the law states must be formed by the end of the
month, unless Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction,
changes its political program.
Hamas plans to present a new "position paper" to Fatah before
talks resume on Tuesday and aims to form a government by the end of
the week, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Diplomatic sources said US restrictions on contacts and
assistance to Hamas would apply to members of Fatah and other
parties if they joined a government under the militant group.
Bush administration officials are barred from direct contact
with Hamas and US law bans financial support for the group,
classified as a terrorist organization by the State Department.
"If Fatah joins as an organization, it would fall into the same
category," said a diplomatic source involved in US deliberations.
"Of course, if Hamas and other government members accept the
Quartet principles, that changes the situation."
Israel says that peace talks, stalled for almost a year by
violence, cannot resume unless Abbas dismantles militant groups and
that it will not negotiate with a government led by Hamas or any
group bent on destroying the Jewish state.
Peres meets Abbas
But Shimon Peres, a veteran statesman and confidant to interim
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, met Abbas in Jordan over the weekend to
discuss continuing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, a senior
Israeli government source said.
Israel and the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United
States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- have
called on Hamas to renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state
and abide by interim peace deals with Israel.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat played down the possibility
of Washington curtailing contacts with Fatah.
"The Americans know our position very well. We told them that
there will be one policy for the Palestinian Authority, not two,"
Erekat said, apparently referring to PA chairman Abbas's calls for
an end to violence and resumption of peace talks.
Bringing Fatah, which is committed to seeking a negotiated peace
with Israel, into the new government could help Hamas avoid
political turmoil at home and undercut US and Israeli efforts to
isolate the group internationally.
While Hamas members are expected to run key ministries including
interior and foreign affairs, the group may appoint Palestinians
from rival parties, technocrats and independents in the hope of
easing international pressure.
The US message to Hamas leaders, diplomats said, was that the
pressure would not ease even if they appointed outsiders.
US officials had told Abbas and other senior Fatah members in
recent meetings that Washington opposed the faction joining the
government, Palestinian officials said.
Hamas has masterminded nearly 60 suicide bombings against
Israelis since a Palestinian revolt erupted in September 2000. But
it has largely observed a truce declared early last year.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies March 14, 2006)
