Hamas ended coalition talks Thursday after failing to secure a
single party as a partner, but said it will form a government on
its own — a scenario likely to ensure international isolation for
the Islamic militants.
The new Cabinet, to be presented to parliament next week, must
also win the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who
has been telling Hamas, which swept January elections, that it must
first renounce violence and accept interim peace accords with
Israel.
Hamas has rejected those demands, also made by Israel, the
United States and Europe, which label Hamas a terrorist group.
Israel has already suspended monthly transfer of tens of millions
of dollars in tax money to the Palestinians, and Western donors are
considering cutting aid — a critical element in the cash-strapped
Palestinian Authority's budget.
Representatives from the US, Russia, European Union and United
Nations — the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators — were
gathering in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday to discuss how to
bypass the Palestinian Authority and get aid directly to the
Palestinians.
The World Bank warned in a report released Thursday that cutting
off funds would devastate the struggling Palestinian economy.
Without the money, the Palestinian economy would contract by 27
percent and income levels would drop by 30 percent this year alone
— levels comparable to a deep depression.
The Hamas victory has placed Abbas in the difficult situation of
having to deal with a Cabinet controlled by a rival party while
facing crippling economic sanctions.
Abbas is expected to ask Hamas to rework its government program,
an official close to Abbas said on condition of anonymity because
he is not authorized to reveal the contents of the
negotiations.
The main sticking point in Palestinian coalition talks has been
Hamas' refusal to recognize a 1988 unilateral Palestinian
declaration of independence that included a recognition of
Israel.
Hamas legislator Mushir al-Masri said Thursday marked the final
round of negotiations. He did not say outright that the talks had
failed. However, the small Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, which had been considered a likely coalition partner,
said it did not find common ground. Abbas' Fatah has said it would
not join a Hamas government.
Al-Masri said that if Hamas did not find coalition partners, it
would present a Cabinet of independents, technocrats and Hamas
politicians to parliament on Monday.
Hamas has said it would reserve the top posts of foreign
minister, interior minister and finance minister for itself.
Hamas hoped for a broad-based government, partly to deflect
international criticism, but refused to bend its principles.
Abbas has the right to veto the composition of a Hamas
government, or ask that some ministers be replaced, but since the
Hamas-dominated parliament needs to approve the Cabinet, Abbas
cannot impose a government of his choosing.
Also Thursday, Israeli soldiers raided the West Bank town of
Jenin and surrounded two hideouts, demanding the surrender of five
fugitives from Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigades. A gunfight erupted, and an Israeli soldier was killed.
The military was checking the possibility he was hit by Israeli
gunfire.
The operation came two days after the army raided the Jericho
jail, capturing six militants, including PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat,
the suspected mastermind of the 2001 assassination of an Israeli
Cabinet minister.
Opponents of acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert charged
that the raid was an election stunt, less than two weeks before
Israelis choose a new parliament. Olmert hotly denied that.
Polls in two Israeli newspapers Thursday showed almost identical
results, with small changes in Olmert's favor from the week
before.
Olmert's Kadima maintained its huge lead with 39 seats of the
120 in the parliament, ahead of the moderate Labor with 19-20 and
hawkish Likud with 15, the polls said.
The poll in the Maariv daily by the Teleseker firm
interviewed 500 voters, while the Dahaf poll in the Yediot
Ahronot paper covered 1,002 voters. Both factored in only
those who said they were sure to vote and quoted margins of error
of 4.4 percentage points.
The leading European human rights body said Thursday it has
decided to invite Palestinian lawmakers from the Hamas group to
Strasbourg, France, in hopes of bringing them together with Israeli
counterparts who were also asked to come.
The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly said it would
invite members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including
Hamas deputies, and members of the Israeli parliament to its April
10-13 session.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the idea of inviting Hamas
to the Council of Europe, calling Hamas a terrorist
organization.
"This is a slap in the face to the very principles upon which
the Council of Europe was established, namely democracy, human
rights and the rule of law," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mark Regev said.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies March 17, 2006)
