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Differences emerge before Palestinian unity deal

03 May 2011 04:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Serious disagreements over control of security forces and other key issues emerged in statements Monday by officials of the rival Palestinian Fatah and Hamas movements, two days before they were due to sign an accord to end their bitter four-year rift, APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€.
Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas would not relinquish control of its security forces and would maintain its rule over Gaza even after the unity accord takes effect. That ran counter to the Fatah view that there would be a single authority with control of all the weapons in the West Bank and Gaza.
There was also a disagreement over how to relate to Israel and who the prime minister would be.
Under a framework accord reached last week, a unity caretaker government is to be formed to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections next year. The ministers are supposed to be technocrats, not politicians. The deal is to be signed in Cairo on Wednesday.
The security and Israel issues are closely related. Fatah, the dominant force in the Palestinian Authority governing in the West Bank, recognizes Israel and has signed a series of interim peace deals, though negotiations are currently frozen over a dispute about Israeli construction in its West Bank settlements.
Hamas, in contrast, does not accept a place for a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East, though some pragmatists would accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza as an interim measure. Hamas has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel and fired thousands of rockets. Hamas is labeled a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and EU.
On the issue of security forces, Haniyeh said Monday, "The resistance weapons will not be touched, but we will manage together how to act," without explaining how. He gave no indication that Hamas might give up its armed struggle against Israel or approve peace talks for the first time.
West Bank Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad insisted Monday, "The most important thing here is the struggle of our people should be nonviolent." He added, "We need to finalize that policy and make it official."
Hamas has been a rival of Fatah since the Islamist group was formed in the late 1980s. Tensions boiled over after Fatah refused to relinquish power despite a Hamas election victory in 2006. The next year, Hamas overran Gaza, expelling Fatah forces and leaving the Palestinians with competing governments in their two territories, separated by Israel.
Fayyad, a U.S.-trained economist who has won worldwide praise for building Palestinian institutions and revamping the economy, may be out of a job if the reconciliation plan goes through.
Fatah’s chief negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmed, told a news conference in Cairo that the next prime minister would be selected through a consensus of all Palestinian factions. But Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said the next premier should come from Gaza, Hamas’ stronghold.
Zahar’s remarks to the Arabic Al-Hayyat newspaper signaled that Hamas does not want Fayyad to stay in office.
Al-Ahmed said the new government would continue its security coordination with Israel, which has helped prevent militant attacks against Jews in the West Bank. That coordination has also included sharp crackdowns against Hamas militants in the West Bank.
"Security coordination has nothing to do with the Fatah-Hamas divide," al-Ahmed told reporters.
Israel has already said it would not cooperate with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas.