Israel Matzav

Abu Mazen - Haniyeh sulha watch - Part 5

For those who have missed it, Parts 1 - 4 of this series may be found here, here, here and here.

The London-based Arabic daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports today that 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and 'moderate' deposed 'Palestinian' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh are on the verge of kissing and making up.

According to the report, Hamas is willing to initiate dialogue with Fatah and transfer control of the border crossings to Egypt.

The report, which presents the general outline of Hamas' plan, said the organization has also expressed its willingness to temporarily transfer control of its security forces and the border crossings in Gaza to Egypt until the formation of a new PA security force with consent of both organizations.

The plan also calls for an end to the mutual smear campaigns in the Palestinian media and the scheduling of a meeting between Hamas and Fatah representatives in one of the Arab countries. Fatah has yet to reply to the proposal, the report said.

Hamas' plan also touches on the sensitive issues that have been discussed by the both sides in the past, such as the reestablishment of a unity government based on the Cairo and Mecca accords, and the fate of the prisoners captured by both sides during and after Hamas' takeover of Gaza.

The plan also calls for the reestablishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organization institutions, as specified by the Cairo accords, as well as the acceptance of a number of principles, including the territorial unification of Gaza and the West Bank and the "rejection of any attempts to divide the Palestinian people".

When will this 'dialogue happen? Here's my guess: It depends on whether the US-sponsored peace conference gang tackle of Israel actually takes place. At the moment, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are all refusing to attend the 'conference' unless Israel waves a white flag of surrender first. If the 'conference' does not take place, look for the Abu Mazen - Haniyeh 'dialogue' to take place in the next few weeks under Egyptian and Saudi sponsorship. If the 'conference' does take place, look for the 'Palestinians' to be 'disappointed' and for the 'dialogue' to take place in response to that 'disappointment.'

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:03 PM