Apr
27
2014
By Daoud Kuttab
Since the Palestinians have agreed to reconcile and create a national unity government until elections can take place, the debate now focuses on one simple question: Do the conditions imposed on Hamas by the Middle East Quartet apply to any future Palestinian government as a whole or do they apply to every individual member of the government?
After Hamas swept the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006, the Quartet — the United States, European Union, the United Nations and Russia — issued three conditions for dealing with any Palestinian government that might be established. It had to recognize Israel, adhere to previously signed treaties and renounce violence. The Islamic movement Hamas has always had a problem with these conditions. It has said it is willing to accept a long-term truce with Israel, but not to recognize Israel or give up the right of resistance, which is guaranteed to people under occupation.
The reconciliation agreement signed on April 23 by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas calls for creating a national unity government consisting of technocrats. The agreement, which implemented the previous Cairo and Doha agreements, suggests that President Mahmoud Abbas act as prime minister until elections are held. One popularly discussed idea is that the Palestinian prime minister have two deputies, one in the West Bank (perhaps the politician Rami Hamdallah) and one in Gaza (most likely Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh). Continue Reading »
Apr
27
2014
By Daoud Kuttab
As the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) convenes in Ramallah on April 26, its mission — to determine the future of peace talks and elect a president and parliament — is easier now that the PLO and Hamas have agreed to implement their reconciliation agreements.
Presidential and parliamentary elections (both inside and outside Palestine) are now scheduled six months after the creation of a unity government. President Mahmoud Abbas has been authorized to consult on the creation of a government of experts and announce the date for general elections. The April 23 agreement in Gaza appears, on paper, to be a total Hamas capitulation to the PLO and Abbas.
The PCC now faces one challenge, the peace talks. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Palestinian-Israeli talks will not be resumed when the April 29 cut-off date arrives.
Before the reconciliation agreement was announced, Salim Zannoun, the speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), stated that he didn’t believe continuing the talks would be productive. In an exclusive interview April 22 with Al-Monitor, Zannoun described his view of the peace talks as “very pessimistic.†The speaker noted that he doesn’t expect “anything worthwhile” to come to the Palestinian people out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue Reading »
