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Hamas PM won't respond to deal demand
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-22 08:50
Ismail Haniyeh of the militant group Hamas was appointed Tuesday as the next
Palestinian prime minister, but he refused to respond to a demand from the
president to adhere to interim peace deals reached with Israel.
After
accepting the letter designating him as prime minister, Haniyeh met with
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for more than two hours, their second such
session in two days — an indication of the wide gaps between the two men.
Hamas' Ismail
Haniyeh leaves the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' office with the
official nomination for the formation of his new government as Prime
Minister in Gaza City Monday Feb. 21, 2006. Abbas formally tasked Haniyeh
with forming a new government, one month after the radical Islamist
faction's massive election victory. [AP] | Abbas
is the head of Fatah, the Islamic movement Hamas trounced in last month's
Palestinian parliamentary election. Abbas was elected president last year, and
now he will have to deal with a Hamas parliament and Cabinet.
The letter naming Haniyeh, in addition to the official appointment, was a
one-page summary of Abbas' political positions, according to Abbas aides who
spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to give details.
Abbas has said the Hamas-led government must accept the agreements made by
previous governments — including interim peace accords with Israel and the
internationally backed "road map" plan for a Palestinian state.
Haniyeh was noncommittal. "We will study it, and God willing, we will answer
soon to Abu Mazen (Abbas), God willing," he said.
Hamas ideology does not recognize a Jewish state in the Middle East, and the
militant group has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel. Since the
election, Hamas has rebuffed demands from Israel, the U.S., the United Nations
and Europe to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Haniyeh has five weeks to form a Cabinet, and he began holding talks with
several small factions after the Hamas-dominated parliament took office
Saturday. A relative moderate by Hamas standards and a skilled negotiator,
Haniyeh said he wants to bring Fatah into his government.
"I think the room for agreement with Fatah is large," he said, "and we hope
to reach a formula through which we can form a national unity government." So
far Fatah has refused.
The 46-year-old Haniyeh also said it was "premature" to discuss incorporating
the Hamas military wing into Palestinian security services.
Hamas' rise to power has badly damaged chances of renewing peace
negotiations. Israel refuses to deal with the group until it renounces violence
and recognizes the Jewish state.
Further diminishing peace prospects, exiled Hamas political leader Khaled
Mashaal was in Iran, Israel's staunchest enemy, seeking to drum up support.
Speaking to Israel TV, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday
that the chances of a "quick agreement" with the Palestinians are less now that
Hamas is in charge.
"But the hope has not disappeared, and I am responsible for both things, the
battle against Hamas and maintaining hope, the chance to reach an agreement," he
said.
It is unclear how Israel could carry out peace talks with Hamas in
government. Abbas has suggested that he could handle peace negotiations, while
letting Hamas focus on its domestic agenda of improving social services and
rooting out government corruption.
Israeli officials say they will not deal with a "two-headed government" that
includes a party committed to the country's destruction. After Hamas took over
parliament, Israel froze the transfer of roughly $50 million in tax funds to the
cash-starved Palestinian Authority each month.
Israel also has urged the international community to join it in isolating
Hamas. The United States and the European Union, which consider Hamas a
terrorist group, have threatened to halt hundreds of millions of dollars of
foreign aid once the new Palestinian Cabinet takes office.
In the West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli troops pressed an operation in the
Balata refugee camp near Nablus. The army said troops found more than 155 pounds
of explosives, and Palestinian officials said 18 Palestinians were wounded in
clashes.
The army has been hunting for militants in Balata for three days. Residents
said they were running out of food and water, and the army allowed five
lawmakers to bring in supplies. The lawmakers are from Hamas but said they did
not disclose their affiliation to the soldiers.
The army said it removed three small West Bank outposts near Ramallah. No
violence was reported. Under the "road map" peace plan, Israel has pledged to
remove about two dozen unauthorized West Bank outposts.
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