Israel Matzav: Awww... Hamas bigwig says Abu Mazen drive for reconciliation a hoax

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Awww... Hamas bigwig says Abu Mazen drive for reconciliation a hoax

Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar says that 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President ~~Mahmoud Abbas~~ Abu Mazen's drive for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah is a hoax.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not serious about reconciliation with Hamas, which is evident by his continued postponement of the process of forming a unity government, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar told pan-Arab daily Asharq Alawsat in an interview published Wednesday.

According to Zahar, Abbas is unfit to "meet the requirements of reconciliation," and has set untenable deadlines for the formation of a government early next year and legislative and presidential elections in May.

Zahar said the main obstacle standing in the way of Hamas-Fatah reconciliation was Abbas's reliance on what he called the "US-Israeli axis." According to the Hamas leaders, Abbas's "connection with the US" makes forming closer ties with Hamas difficult.

According to Khaled Abu Toameh, Zahar may actually be correct. But the feeling is mutual.

Hamas officials revealed that the PA security forces have arrested or summoned for interrogation 23 supporters of the Islamist movement in the past few days in violation of the understandings reached between Abbas and Mashaal. Half of the detainees were rounded up in the past 48 hours, the officials said.

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In Ramallah, PA security forces arrested Omar Awwad, 55, and four of his sons, sources close to Hamas said. They said that they were arrested as a means of pressure to force a fifth son, Abdel Rahman, to hand himself in to PA security forces. Rahman is wanted for membership in Hamas.

In Nablus, PA security forces summoned for interrogation eight Hamas supporters who were recently released from Israeli prison, the sources said.

In Tulkarm, Bara’a Qarawi, the son of a Hamas legislator, said he would not report for interrogation after being served with a summons earlier this week.

Two university students who also received summons’s for interrogation by PA security forces said they would not comply, the sources added.

A Hamas official said that at least 93 supporters and members of the movement were being held in detention in various PA prisons. He said that 40 of the detainees were from Hebron and 20 from Nablus.

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Fatah, for its part, accused Hamas security services of arresting and harassing Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, Abdullah Nofal and Muhammad Nawajha, two Fatah-affiliated university students, were picked up by Hamas security officers, Fatah activists said.

The activists said that dozens of Fatah supporters have been summoned for interrogation and were being banned from leaving the Gaza Strip.

Since the beginning of the week, Hamas has also arrested four Palestinian journalists for allegedly being affiliated with Fatah. The four are Salah Abu Salah, Mahmoud Abu Riyaleh, Hani al-Agha and Ziad Awad.

A fifth journalist, Manal Khamis, has been repeatedly summoned for interrogation by Hamas security officers, who also confiscated computers and documents belonging to the journalists.