Israel Matzav

Abu Mazen - Haniyeh sulha watch

I am sure you will all be shocked - just shocked - to hear that less than 24 hours after 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen told dhimmi-witted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert that he has 'no intention' of reconciling with Hamas, and just days after pocketing millions of dollars in American and Israeli money and weapons for his 'security officers,' and 'goodwill gesture' releases of terrorists, the Jerusalem Post is reporting this morning on 'secret negotiations' to arrange for a sulha (reconciliation) between Fatah and Hamas.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Tuesday evening they did not have any information about secret Fatah-Hamas talks, but that Olmert made it clear to Abbas on Monday that Israel strongly opposed a renewal of negotiations that would lead to another united Palestinian government.

The sources said Hamas-Fatah talks could have severe "diplomatic ramifications," and that Israel would again cut off contact with a PA government that included Hamas.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday he was prepared to step down to pave the way for the resumption of the Hamas-Fatah talks. This was the first time he had made such a statement since Hamas's takeover.

...

One of the proposals being discussed calls for handing over all the security headquarters in the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian security forces as a first step toward resuming the dialogue.

Fatah officials here told The Jerusalem Post some Arab countries were involved in mediation efforts to resolve the crisis between Hamas and Fatah. They named Muhammad Jassem al-Saqer, a Kuwaiti national and speaker of the Arab Parliament, as the driving force behind the mediation efforts.

...

Another Fatah official told the Post Russia was also involved in the mediation efforts. Noting that Abbas had visited Moscow recently, the official said the Russian government had made it clear to Abbas that President Vladimir Putin was keen on resolving the crisis between the two parties.

"The Russians informed Abbas that they were planning to invite senior Hamas representatives to Moscow for talks on ways of resolving the dispute," he said. "We are not opposed to the mediation efforts, but there are certain conditions that Hamas must fulfill before we move forward. Hamas must apologize for its coup and hand over all the security installations it occupied last June."

Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a senior Fatah official and Abbas aide, said his faction was not opposed to launching a dialogue with Hamas. But, he said, Hamas must first recognize the legitimate authority of Abbas and retreat from its military coup.

"We want to hear from Hamas an apology for what they did in the Gaza Strip," Abdel Rahman said. "If they want to resume the dialogue with Fatah, they must first admit that they made a mistake when they staged a coup against the legitimate authority."

Ahmed Yusef, a political advisor to Haniyeh, confirmed that secret talks were being held with Fatah to resolve the crisis. He said representatives of various Palestinian political factions and some Arab governments were playing a major role in attempts to patch up differences between the two parties.

"These are behind-the-scenes talks that are being held far from the media to ensure their success," Yusef said. "Some Arab and Islamic countries are keen on restoring Palestinian national unity. They are making huge efforts to iron out differences between Ramallah and Gaza."

Asked if Hamas was prepared to apologize for its takeover of the Gaza Strip, Yusef said, "I see no reason for apologies. We might even reach a situation where the brothers in Ramallah may have to apologize to Gaza and not vice versa."

Yusef said he was convinced Abbas was interested in talking to Hamas despite his harsh statements.

"We understand his anger following what happened in the Gaza Strip," he said. "We are aware that what happened came as a shock to Abbas and his team because they lost everything in the Gaza Strip."

The real problem, Yusef said, was with people surrounding Abbas who do not want him to talk to Hamas.

"These people are serving an American-Israeli agenda," he said. "They want to maintain the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and are working toward foiling any attempt to reach understandings between Fatah and Hamas."

Yusef expected the two parties to reach an agreement to end their differences within the next two months.

"We are beginning to feel that the mediation efforts are very serious," he said. "We are convinced that during this period we will able to strike a deal regarding political partnership between Fatah and Hamas."

Now repeat after me: Fatah and Hamas share the same goal; the differences between them are tactical. Fatah and Hamas share the same goal; the differences between them are tactical. Fatah and Hamas share the same goal; the differences between them are tactical.

Update 11:20 AM

Just to show you how slanted the Israeli media is....

Haaretz, Israel's Hebrew 'Palestinian' daily, has no mention of the story above, and instead is reporting that Fatah is requesting 'large shipments of weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles' from Egypt and Jordan to 'stave off Hamas.'

I guess God is proving that He can continue the Jewish state's existence despite its imbecilic chattering classes.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:46 AM