The Palestinian president says he intends to hold a referendum on any peace deal with Israel, sidestepping the Hamas-led government. Speaking before the swearing-in of the new Israeli government on Thursday, Mahmoud Abbas told the Israeli daily Maariv that Tel Aviv should not be deterred from renewing peace talks with the Palestinians despite Hamas's control of the Palestinian Authority. "We should not miss this opportunity," he said. "It is my intention to bring the results of the negotiations [with Israel], if and when they end, to the Palestinian people in the form of a referendum, and to give the Palestinian people the right to decide."
Hamas has not suggested a referendum directly, but it said in March that "the question of recognising Israel is not the jurisdiction of one faction, nor the government, but a decision for the Palestinian people". |