Peres: Pact is fatal mistake
Photo: Ori Porat
Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh
Photo: EFP
Peres: Fatah-Hamas deal a fatal mistake
President urges PA's Abbas not to sign unity pact. 'Agreement will prevent establishment of Palestinian state, destroy chances for peace'
President Shimon Peres
urged his Palestinian counterpart on Thursday to not sign the unity agreement with Hamas.
"I call on Mahmoud Abbas
to avoid associating with Hamas," he said. "We have an opportunity for peace; you are ruining the opportunity for a Palestinian state."
"The agreement between Fatah and the terrorist organization of Hamas is a fatal mistake which will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and destroy the chances of achieving peace and stability in the region," he said.
Peres said that the Palestinian Authority's plan to achieve the United Nations' recognition of an independent state in September will not actualize because of the pact between Hamas and Fatah.
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Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni expressed reservation about the deal as well. "It is still unclear what the terms of this agreement will be, but the test of the Palestinian government will be the acceptance of the international community's conditions," she said. "A Palestinian government will have to accept the Quartet's conditions if it intends to keep peace with Israel."
Livni also slammed the PA's intention to declare a state unilaterally. "The establishment of a Palestinian state can only be achieved through a detailed agreement that would be reached with Israel." she said. "Negotiations are the only way. We must return to them and base them on the negotiations that we held only two years ago."
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