Salah Bardawil
Photo: AP
Mahmoud Abbas
Photo: AP
Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil said that the Palestinian Authority's UN bid was "perilous for the resistance movement."
According to Bardawil, "September's plan does not stem from reasonable principles and is part of the negotiation process. If it works, it will cement the Palestinians' recognition of Israel's right to exist."
More on the PA's UN campaign
- Abbas: UN bid irreversible
- Clinton: Road to Palestine does not run through UN
- Carter 'reluctantly' backs Palestinian UN bid
Bardawil added that Hamas may find itself in a bind vis-à-vis the international community.
The Palestinians' UN campaign for statehood, he stressed, was a private initiative led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his associates. The move is devoid the support of the Palestinian factions, or – for that matter – the Palestinian people, he added.
Hamas has voiced its objection to the PA's move in the past, and PA officials admitted that the move was decided on regardless of the status of the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal.
- For full coverage of the PA's UN campaign click here
The historic deal, signed in April, has been frowned upon by the West, which considered Hamas to be a terror group. The rival Palestinian factions have since been struggling to see the deal come to fruition, and since the PA's statehood bid has gone into high gear, is seems that Abbas has been trying to distance himself from Hamas.
"Now, with all efforts focused on September, we want all voices to be with us," a senior Fatah said. "We are not giving the Americans or anyone else a reason to shun us because of the reconciliation or anything else."
Senior Fatah official Saeb Erekat admitted recently that Ramallah's efforts were not coordinated with Hamas: "Unfortunately there has been no coordination thus far, but our door is open and we will welcome them at any time," he said.
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