Arab MKs: Fatah won't recognize Yemeni initiative
Israeli lawmakers meet with Fatah officials in Ramallah, say Abbas' movement won't agree to reconcile with Hamas as long as Islamist movement maintains control over Gaza. MK Zahalka: Israel looking to shatter the Palestinian nation, divide it into subgroups
Fatah will not recognize the Yemeni proposal outlining a path to reconciliation with Hamas as long as the Islamist movement maintains its control over the Gaza Strip, this according to Arab Knesset members who met in Ramallah Monday with representatives of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' organization.
Under the Yemeni proposal, signed Sunday, Fatah and Hamas would agree in principle to unite in a single Palestinian government. However, in several days of talks in Yemen, the bitter rivals failed to resolve the crucial question of how they should share power.
The Fatah representatives, including Mohammad Horani of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Osman Abu el-Gharbiya, told the MKs, all members of the National Democratic Assembly Party, that the delegation to Yemen consisted of officials from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), not Fatah.
According to the senior Fatah members, the Yemeni proposal will not even be considered by the movement's authoritative bodies.
MK Jamal Zahalka said following the meeting that he did not detect any change in Fatah's position regarding possible reconciliation with Hamas, adding that he hopes "the intervention of Arab countries, perhaps those with more clout than Yemen, will succeed (in mediating between Fatah and Hamas)."
'Unity an existential matter'
A senior Abbas confidant, chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia, said Monday that former Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister Azzam al-Ahmed signed the Yemeni declaration due to a mix-up. Al-Ahmed called Abbas' office repeatedly to get guidance, but Abbas was meeting at the time with US Vice President Dick Cheney, and al-Ahmed went ahead and signed, Qureia said.
Hamas and Fatah briefly ruled together last year until internal fighting led to Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June.
MK Zahalka refuted Fatah's claim that the National Democratic Assembly has supported Hamas, saying "many people said we were against Fatah, but this isn’t true- this is disinformation.
"It is true that we have had our differences with Fatah, but it can't be said that we back Hamas," he said, "we are secular people whose ideology differs greatly from that of Hamas."
During the meeting the MKs and the Fatah representatives also disagreed on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, with the Israeli lawmakers claiming that the continued negotiations allow Israel to strengthen its siege on Gaza. The Fatah officials for their part said negotiations were the only way to reach a peace agreement.
Zahalka stressed the importance of Palestinian unity, saying Israel was looking to "shatter the Palestinian nation and divide it into subgroups.
"Unity is an existential matter for the Palestinians, and the Fatah officials agreed with us on this and accused Hamas of sabotaging the unity efforts," the MK said.
