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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Fatah authorizes unity gov't with Hamas |
| 2006-08-26 |
| Top leaders of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party on Saturday gave Abbas the go-ahead to begin forming a unity government with Hamas in an effort to end internal feuding and international isolation, a party member said. The Fatah Central Committee gave Abbas "all the powers to begin consultations with all the national factions in order to form a national unity government," Fatah member Hani al-Hassan said. The central committee's meetings, which began Wednesday, were the first gathering of its kind since the party's stunning defeat by Hamas in parliamentary elections held in January. Hamas, which heads the Palestinian government, has since been marginalized by the international community and has come under a crippling economic boycott for refusing to recognize Israel. Abbas believes that forming a coalition will force Hamas to moderate its anti-Israel stance and help open the way for the renewal of broader peace talks. "The problem is not between Fatah and Hamas as it is portrayed by some, it is how to save the Palestinian national project and face the current crisis," al-Hassan said. This assertion, as well as claims of a unity government agreement, have been rejected by some members of the Palestinian parliament. "There is no discussion of a unity Palestinian government, except for the discussion in the media," said Palestinian parliament member, Mahmoud Dahlan in an interview with "Haaretz" in Gaza. According to Dahlan, there is no real attempt from the part of the government or factions to a get the Palestinians out of their current crisis. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Good, now the IDF doesn't have to worry about which Palestinian lawmakers it kills. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-08-26 00:47 |