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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

West Bank municipal elections delayed

2010-06-11

In a surprise move Thursday, the Palestinian Authority decided to call off municipal elections slated for next month in the West Bank. The decision came one day after the meeting in Washington between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and US President Barack Obama. The PA did not give any reason for the decision, but said a new date for the voting would be set later. The decision, announced by the PA government in Ramallah, contradicts the Palestinian leadership's previous promises that the vote would take place on time. The elections were scheduled to take place only in the West Bank on July 17. Hamas, which had decided to boycott the vote, announced that it wouldn't allow the elections to take place in the Gaza Strip. Several other Palestinian organizations, including Islamic Jihad, also declared their intention to boycott the local elections. The decision to call off the elections was announced on the last day set for candidates and lists to present their candidacies. Palestinian sources told The Jerusalem Post that the decision had been made due to deep divisions in Fatah and because many of the faction's candidates had been planning to run as independents, which was one of the reasons why Fatah lost the January 2006 parliamentary election. “Fatah could not agree on the candidates who were supposed to represent it in the municipal election,' said one source. “In the past few weeks, there has been increased tension in Fatah because of the election. Too many people wanted to run.' Another source said that Hamas's decision to ban the vote in the Gaza Strip, as well as its intention to stay away from the ballot boxes, was another reason behind the decision to cancel the election. “Holding an election in the West Bank alone would have consolidated the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip,' the source explained. “And because Fatah was running almost alone, it would have looked like a joke in the eyes of many Palestinians.' The decision to call off the election drew angry reactions from many Palestinians, some of whom considered it an admission of failure on the part of Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayad. The Palestinian Election Monitoring Committee criticized the decision as “illegal and undemocratic,' adding that the decision would plunge Palestinian society into political turmoil and deepen social divisions. It called on the PA leadership to reconsider its position. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, condemned the decision as a “big mistake,: saying it was both unacceptable and harmful to democracy. Hatem Abdel Kader, a Fatah legislator, told the Post that the decision was apparently related to renewed efforts to end the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah. He said Abbas and the PA leadership wanted to give Hamas another chance to accept an Egyptian proposal for ending the crisis with Fatah. Muhammad Madani, another Fatah official, said that the decision to cancel the election came in response to Arab and Islamic pressure on the PA leadership to wait until the crisis with Hamas was resolved. Denying that Fatah was afraid of contesting the vote, Madani said his faction had succeeded in forming lists of candidates in more than 80 percent of the areas in the West Bank.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Fayad: Jews welcome in our future state

2009-07-08

[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Jews would enjoy freedom and civil rights in a future Palestinian state, a US newspaper quoted Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad as saying on Sunday. Did he mention the word 'dhimmi' in the Arab language version of his speech? Did he mention whether they were alive, or dead and flowing rivers of blood? Fayad addressed the subject in response to a question from former CIA director James Woolsey at the Aspen Institute's Aspen Ideas Festival on Saturday, according to the Aspen Daily News. There are a million Arabs in Israel, accounting for one-sixth of the Israeli population, Woolsey reportedly said, noting that "generally they enjoy the guarantees that Americans look for in the Bill of Rights." "Now, if there is to be the rule of law in a Palestinian state, and if Jews want to live in someplace like Hebron, or anyplace else in a Palestinian state, for whatever reasons or historical attachments, why should they not be treated the same way Israeli Arabs are?" the newspaper quoted Woolsey as asking the PA prime minister. Fayad responded by saying, "I'm not going to disagree with you. And I'm not someone who will say that they would or should be treated differently than Israeli Arabs are treated in Israel. In fact the kind of state that we want to have, that we aspire to have, is one that would definitely espouse high values of tolerance, co-existence, mutual respect and deference to all cultures, religions. No discrimination whatsoever, on any basis whatsoever," the Palestinian official reportedly said. "Jews to the extent they choose to stay and live in the state of Palestine will enjoy those rights and certainly will not enjoy any less rights than Israeli Arabs enjoy now in the state of Israel," Fayad concluded. According to the report, the crowd at the Greenwald Pavilion applauded enthusiastically.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Bloodshed becomes focus of PA-Hamas relations

2009-06-02

Sunday's confrontation between an armed Hamas cell and Palestinian Authority policemen in Kalkilya shows that the Islamic movement still has a military presence in the West Bank - one that it is hoping to use to topple Mahmoud Abbas's regime there. PA security officials said the two Hamas operatives who were killed in the clash, Muhammad Samman and Muhammad Yassin, headed a cell that possessed large amounts of weapons, including explosives and automatic rifles, some of which had been hidden in a basement of a mosque in the city. The weapons, according to the officials, were supposed to be used by Hamas against members of the PA security forces and Fatah and PA officials. The officials revealed that Hamas members had long been collecting information about PA security officials and installations in the context of what they alleged was a scheme to stage a "coup" similar to the one that the movement carried out in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007. But while the elimination of Hamas's Kalkilya cell may have foiled or hindered the movement's attempts to undermine the PA, the incident is seen as the final nail in the coffin of Palestinian unity talks. Over the past few months, the Egyptians have been working very hard to convince Hamas and Fatah to end their differences and agree on the formation of a new unity government. At least four sessions of negotiations between the two parties have ended in failure. But this did not dissuade the Egyptians from pursuing their efforts. Omar Suleiman, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service who has been overseeing the talks, had summoned representatives of the two parties to another [and final] session of talks in Cairo in the coming days. Suleiman was hoping to employ heavy pressure on Fatah and Hamas to end their power struggle and sit together in a unity government. Hamas and Fatah officials agreed on Sunday that it would be "almost impossible" under the current circumstances to resume the unity talks in Cairo. Hamas representatives said they were seriously considering pulling out from the talks, while Fatah accused the Islamic movement of declaring war on its men in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders and spokesmen are now openly calling on their supporters in the West Bank to rise up against Abbas and his prime minister, Salaam Fayad. Some went as far as accusing the two of high treason for collaborating with Israel - an allegation that is normally punished with death in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas is convinced that the killing of its men is one of the results of Abbas's recent visit to Washington, where he held talks with US President Barack Obama, and presented him with a "detailed plan" to wipe out the movement. Hamas also believes the incident in Kalkilya, as well as the ongoing crackdown by the PA security forces on Hamas supporters in the West Bank, should be seen in the context of efforts by Abbas and Fayad to show Israel, the US and the EU that they are fulfilling their obligations under the road map by fighting terrorism. Yet while Abbas and Fayad may win words of support from Jerusalem, Washington and European capitals for joining the war on Islamic fundamentalism, it's likely that the two are almost certain to lose points among their own constituents. Many Palestinians have long been drawing parallels between the two men and the former pro-Israel South Lebanon Army headed by Antoine Lahad. Many Arab media outlets refer to the PA security forces in the West Bank as the Dayton Forces, a reference to US security coordinator Keith Dayton, who has been entrusted with overseeing the reconstruction and training of these forces to prevent Hamas from extending its control beyond the Gaza Strip. Judging from the actions and fiery rhetoric of both sides, it's obvious that Hamas and Fatah are far from achieving any form of reconciliation between them. Talk about reconciliation has, for now, been replaced with talk about confrontation and bloodshed.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

PA jails Hamas activist for coup plot

2009-05-13

[Jerusalem Post Middle East] In the first verdict of its kind, a Palestinian Authority court in Nablus on Monday sentenced a Hamas activist to 18 months in prison on charges of plotting a coup against the regime of President Mahmoud Abbas. "I'm takin' over here!" "Shuddup. Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!" Meanwhile, Abbas announced that Fatah would convene its sixth general conference in the West Bank in early July, to pave the way for the ruling faction's first internal elections in 20 years. That's somewhat better than "one man, one vote, one time," though not by much... Something about 'Fatah' and 'elections' that doesn't quite ring true ... The Hamas man sentenced to prison was identified as Muhammad Sliman Qatanani, 33. PA security sources said he was arrested about 10 months ago on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons and explosives. "Youse gotta license for them weapons and explosives?" "I don't need no license! They're fambly hairlooms!" During his interrogation, it was learned that Qatanani had also established a number of clandestine Hamas cells in the West Bank with the aim of toppling Abbas's regime, the sources said. This was the first time that a PA court had sentenced a Hamas activist to prison for conspiring to overthrow the regime. Though not the first time it's been conspired... Officials had claimed in the past that Hamas was continuing its efforts to undermine the PA and extend the Islamist movement's control to the West Bank. Comes as a surprise, huh? Floored me, too. Hamas reacted with fury to the prison sentence, condemning it as a "ridiculous lie." "Whoever hoid of such a thing?" Fazi Sawaftah, a Hamas representative in the West Bank, described the defendant as a mujahed (holy warrior) and "political prisoner." Guilty, is he? The verdict was part of Abbas's attempts to "legitimize" political detentions of Hamas supporters in the West Bank, Sawaftah said. "Abbas's security forces have failed to prove that Qatanani or other detained Hamas supporters had used weapons against the Palestinian Authority," he added. "This comes as part of the massive and fierce campaign against Hamas and attempts to destroy our movement." If anyone had been plotting to stage a coup, it was Abbas and his men in Fatah who refused to accept the results of the January 2006 parliamentary election, hampered the work of the Palestinian Legislative Council, ... which results are still valid for another 17 years, mind you... torched the offices of Hamas parliament members and the headquarters of the PA prime minister in Ramallah, and fought against the democratically elected Hamas government, Sawaftah said. Speaking to Fatah members in Ramallah, Abbas announced that the movement would convene its long-awaited sixth general conference on July 1. The announcement came in response to allegations that Abbas and representatives of the "old guard" in Fatah were deliberately delaying the conference to avoid internal elections that would see the emergence of younger and fresher faces. Abbas said that about 1,200 Fatah members would attend the conference, which last met in August 1989 in Tunis. He said the gathering would take place either in Jericho or in Bethlehem, but would be called off if Israel prevented Fatah officials from the Gaza Strip and the Arab world from entering the West Bank. Abbas also declared that he would announce the establishment of a new PA government within 48 hours. The new government is expected to be headed by current Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

ŽAbbas to form new govŽt without HamasŽ

2009-05-08

[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask his prime minister within the coming week to form a new government without Hamas, a senior aide said Thursday. Months of power-sharing talks between Fatah and Hamas have gone nowhere. "If they continue like this, it could last for years," aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said. Formation of a new government enjoys "external support," he added, referring to Egypt, which has mediated the floundering power-sharing talks. There was no immediate comment from Egyptian officials. Abed Rabbo said the next round of Egyptian-brokered contacts would take place on May 16 as planned, but Hamas shared his pessimism regarding their outcome. "There are no signals on the horizon of a power-sharing deal with Fatah," said Mahmoud Ramahi, a Hamas leader. Fatah insists that Hamas yield to international demands to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, "which the movement will not accept under any condition," Ramahi said. But he cautioned that if Abbas forms a new government "that would undermine" the unity talks, he added. Abbas ordered the formation of the current government in the West Bank after Hamas overran Gaza nearly two years ago, routing Fatah security forces and in effect creating dueling Palestinian governments. He claims authority over Gaza, too, but in practice has no influence there. The new government PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad will be asked to form will include old ministers and new, Abed Rabbo said.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Mahmoud Habbash favored to head PA

2009-05-04

[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is considering the possibility of asking a former Hamas representative to head a new PA government in the West Bank, a PA official in Ramallah revealed over the weekend. The official said that Mahmoud Habbash, who broke away from Hamas several years ago and is currently the minister of Social Welfare in the government of Salaam Fayad, was Abbas's favorite candidate for the premiership. "President Abbas will first ask Fayad to head the new government," the official said. "But if Fayad turns down the offer, the president will ask Habbash to form the government." Unlike Fayad, Habbash is a leading religious figure and a devout Muslim. His appointment would be seen as an attempt on the part of Abbas to win the sympathy of Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters. A former resident of the Gaza Strip, Habbash moved to the West Bank more than two years ago after Abbas offered him a job in the Fayad government. Since then he has become one of the most vocal critics of Hamas. During Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, Habbash held a series of press conferences in Ramallah in which he accused Hamas of killing and torturing Fatah members and stealing humanitarian and medical aid sent to the Gaza Strip by international organizations. Hamas officials have accused Habbash of financial corruption, saying he had been expelled from the Islamic movement following suspicions that he had been involved in embezzlement. The London-based pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat daily quoted a source close to Abbas as saying that the appointment of Habbash would be aimed at "snatching the motto of Islam from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Iran." Hamas has warned Abbas against forming a new government in the West Bank, saying that such a step would deal a fatal blow to efforts to end the power struggle between the two sides and solidify divisions among the Palestinians. Egyptian-sponsored negotiations between Hamas and Fatah have thus far failed to produce agreement over a Palestinian unity government. PA officials in Ramallah said over the weekend that it was clear by now that the chances of striking a deal with Hamas are very slim. The main sticking point remains the political program of the unity government and whether it would recognize Israel's right to exist and previous agreements between the Palestinians and Israelis. Earlier this year, Fayad submitted his resignation to Abbas, saying he wanted to pave the way for the formation of a Fatah-Hamas government. At the request of Abbas, Fayad has agreed to remain in his post until the end of the talks with Hamas. Hamas had made it clear that it would not join any government that is headed by Fayad, whom it accuses of collaboration with Israel and the US in launching a massive crackdown on supporters of the Islamic movement in the West Bank. Hamas sources told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday that the PA security forces in the arrested more than 145 Hamas supporters in the West Bank last month. Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for the PA president, said that Abbas was seeking to establish a new government that would include, in addition to Fatah members, representatives of other Palestinian factions. However, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the two "rejectionist," Syrian-based groups said that they would not join any government that is formed in the West Bank. "We need a new government, whether the talks with Hamas fail or succeed," Abu Rudaineh said. "We hope from the bottom of our hearts that the talks will succeed and lead to the establishment of a unity government that would rebuild the Gaza Strip. The international community is telling us that we don't have a government in Palestine; the government of Salaam Fayad has resigned and they don't recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas government."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hamas warns Abbas not to form new government alone

2009-05-02

[Jerusalem Post Middle East] After failing to reach agreement with Hamas over the formation of a Palestinian unity government, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to form a new government that would not include representatives of the Islamic movement, a PA official in Ramallah said Thursday. In response, Hamas warned that such a move would be regarded as a "fatal blow" to Egyptian efforts to end the power struggle with Fatah. Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, said that Abbas was expected to announce a new government soon. He did not give a date, but another PA official said the new government would most probably be established on the eve of Abbas's visit to Washington, where he is expected to meet for the first time with US President Barack Obama. "President Abbas still hasn't begun negotiations over the formation of a new government," Abu Rudaineh said. "But he does plan to form a government with a broad coalition in the near future." Earlier this week, Fatah and Hamas representatives again failed to reach agreement over the formation of a joint government and other issues concerning the status of the PLO, the Palestinian security forces and the political program of the proposed coalition. Representatives of the two sides who met in Cairo at the request of Egyptian General Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said the gap between them remained as wide as ever. They said the most significant difference was over whether the unity government would recognize Israel's right to exist and previous agreements signed between the Palestinians and Israelis. According to a source close to Abbas, the PA president is expected to ask the current prime minister, Salaam Fayad, to head the new government that would exclude Hamas.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

PA, Hamas wonŽt recognize Jewish state

2009-04-19

[Jerusalem Post Front Page] The Palestinian Authority and Hamas rejected over the weekend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people as a precondition for resuming the stalled peace talks between the two sides. Doesn't that make all this talk of a 'two-state solution' in Washington rather pointless? Netanyahu made the demand during a meeting last Thursday with US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell. Mitchell met on Friday in Ramallah with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and other top PA officials, who urged him to pressure the new Israeli government to accept the two-state solution and honor all agreements signed with Israel as a precondition for resuming the peace talks. Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state was "an admission by the Israeli prime minister that he cannot deliver on peace." Erekat pointed out that the PLO had already recognized Israel's right to exist when it signed the Oslo Accords, while Netanyahu was refusing to mention a Palestinian state. Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official closely associated with Abbas, said on Saturday that the Palestinians would not return to the negotiating table until Netanyahu publicly accepted the two-state solution. "We reject Netanyahu's demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state," he said. "This demand illustrates the racist nature of Israel and the extremist policies of its government. It also shows that Israel is not serious about making peace with its neighbors." Just a quick reminder: "racist" Israel has an Arab population of around 25% with full rights and citizenship. Meanwhile, Gaza has been ethnically cleansed of all Jewish residents. Now tell me, which party is the bigoted racist???? Azzam?? Ahmed also said that the PA would not resume the peace talks until Israel halted all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Ok Azzam, Israel will get right on that -- as soon as Arabs halt all "settlement activity" within pre-1967 Israel. Or would that be "racist"??? The new Israeli government, he added, is anti-peace and does not accept the previous agreements and understandings with the Palestinians. "Therefore, we call on the international community to assume its responsibilities and exert pressure on the Israeli government to pursue the path of peace instead of talking only about strengthening the economy," Ahmed said. Omar al-Ghul, an adviser to PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, said that Netanyahu's demand was aimed at transferring the Palestinians to another country. "No Palestinian leader can ever accept this demand even if the whole world recognizes Israel as a Jewish state," he stressed. "The state of Israel belongs to all its citizens, the Palestinians owners of the land and the Jews living there." Hafez Barghouti, editor of the PA's daily mouthpiece, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, said that Netanyahu's demand was aimed at expelling the Arab citizens of Israel and turning Jerusalem into a Jewish city. "Netanyahu wants to replace the Palestinian kaffiyeh with a Jewish kippa," Barghouti said. "This is an irrational and absurd request. No country in the world has ever demanded that it be recognized on the basis of its religion and not political entity." Barghouti added that by making the new demand, Netanyahu was "reigniting a religious conflict and providing fuel to radical Islamic and Jewish groups." Hamas also rejected the demand, calling it a "dangerous idea" and warning the PA leadership against accepting it. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that accepting the demand was tantamount to legitimizing the "radical terrorist Zionist entity." He said that the Palestinians and Arabs must respond to Netanyahu by suspending all forms of contact with the Israeli government, including security coordination between the PA and Israel. "It raises questions as to their seriousness for a historic reconciliation," said an Israeli diplomatic official in response to the statements rejecting Netanyahu's demand. "Recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is a vital element in any process of reconciliation." In Cairo, Mitchell met on Saturday with President Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and reiterated the commitment of the Obama administration to the two-state solution. The US envoy said that Egypt was vital for achieving peace in the region. "We believe that a comprehensive Middle East peace is not only in the interest of the people of the Middle East, the Palestinians, and Israelis and Egyptians, but it is also in the national interest of the United States and people around the world," he told reporters after the meeting. "The president believes and I believe that a comprehensive peace in the Middle East will be possible only as a result of the leadership of Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak and the whole [Egyptian] government." Mitchell's next stop in his Mideast tour is Saudi Arabia.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas Wants Fayad's Head

2009-03-25

Hamas announced on Tuesday that it was planning to press charges against Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad for "collaboration" with Israel and "squandering" public funds. Hamas's threat to prosecute Fayad is likely to hamper Egypt's efforts to end the power struggle between the Islamist movement and Fatah. especially since Egypt and the US like Fayad and consider him the least corrupt and least terror loving PA official of any consequence Fayad could either be charged in absentia (in Gaza), or arrested if he decides to enter the Strip. Earlier this month, Fayad submitted his resignation to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he did not want to be an obstacle to the establishment of a unity government. His resignation is scheduled to go into effect at the end of this month. Hamas leaders have repeatedly stressed that they would stay away from any government headed by Fayad.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Fayad: Send aid directly to needy Gazans

2009-02-19

Donor countries should send Gaza reconstruction funds directly to property owners and contractors, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad said Wednesday, offering a plan that effectively bypasses Hamas. Fayad is preparing a detailed spending proposal for international donors, to be presented at a pledging conference for rebuilding Gaza after Israel's offensive against Hamas last month. The conference is set for March 2 in Egypt, with about 80 countries and organizations participating. Fayad heads the West Bank-based government formed after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June 2007. Hamas has said it wants to have a rakeoff say over how the money is disbursed. However, the international community is unlikely to hand hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic terror group, still shunned by most of the world.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

'Abbas ousts Qurei as top PA negotiator'

2009-02-18

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has ousted Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) from his post as the chief of the team negotiating with Israel due to his inflexible positions and has replaced him with Saeb Erekat, the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat reported Tuesday. The paper quoted senior Palestinian sources who said that Abbas's advisers were accusing Qurei of expressing his own personal opinions during negotiations with Israel. In September 2008, an argument erupted between the two after Qurei "refused to relay to Abbas an agreement proposal from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," the sources said. "There was a possibility that the agreement would have been presented to then-US president George Bush so that he could announce it, but Qurei refused and would not go to the US with Abbas," they added. The paper said that the US had been giving Qurei the cold shoulder since September and accusing him of stubbornness. Israel has also been critical of Qurei for similar reasons. Erekat was quoted by the paper as confirming the details of the report. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, the Palestinian Authority would not confirm that Qurei had been removed. Sources close to Abbas told the paper that Qurei was still charged with handling the final-status negotiations, while Erekat was handling talks pertaining to daily life in the territories. The sources said that PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad was in charge of the implementation of the road map plan. Qurei, a former PA prime minister, headed a Fatah delegation to Cairo to discuss reconciliation with Hamas over the weekend. He is considered a possible successor to Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel approves Jordanian arms shipment to PA

2008-09-06

(AKI) - Jordan has transferred to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank some 1,000 Kalashnikov rifles and tens of thousand of bullets, Israeli media reported on Friday. Oh, yasss. How many times have we observed in these very pages that the Paleostinians are under-armed? Defence Minister Ehud Barak authorised the transfer of arms following a formal request submitted by the PA, defence officials said. Barak's approval is considered to be a gesture to the Palestinian security forces for strengthening their operations against money-laundering in the Gaza Strip. The PA said the weaponry would be used in the campaign Prime Minister Salaam Fayad is currently waging in the West Bank against militants from Islamist Palestinian group Hamas. Fayad's West Bank campaign is targeted at money launderers, many of whom are believed to help finance Hamas. Israeli army officials have expressed fears that the weapons will eventually find their way into militant hands.

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