Abbas, Haniyeh meet to end escalation of violence
Palestinian president and prime minister meet following last weeks riots between Fatah, Hamas that left 13 dead
The two will meet in a final attempt in preventing an escalation of the political crisis in the PA, which could spiral into civil war.
The meeting was to take place with the mediation of Qatari Foreign Minister, Hamad bin Jassim, who came to Gaza especially for that purpose.
PLO member, Yasser Abed Rabu, said Qatar was making efforts to find a solution before elections were announced.
He also said that the Qatari’s would present a plan where any government, be it headed by Hamas or with it’s participation, must acknowledge the Quartet conditions.
That means an acknowledgment of the agreements signed by the PA and Israel, and an acknowledgment of international agreements, including and end to the violence.
Abed Rabu continued to say that the government needed to accept the fact that the PLO was the supreme political entity in the PA, and that the government should be dedicated to whatever would be accomplished in negotiations held with the organization.
The Qatari foreign minister would arrive in Gaza following a meeting in Damascus with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal. The two aimed at finding a solution to the crisis that left 13 Palestinians dead last week, and also discussed used the issue of the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit.
A shadow was cast over Monday evening’s meeting between Abbas and Haniyeh by Abbas’ threat to dismantle the government if Hamas failed to change its stances. However, Hamas claimed that Abbas had no authority to dismantle parliament.
Hamas also said they would remain in power until the end of their candidacy, in four years, and that they would not allow any entity to force them out of power.
