Posted on 11/20/2006 8:02:09 AM PST by SmithL
An aide to President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that talks on forming a Palestinian unity government have been suspended, the latest setback in drawn-out efforts by the rival Hamas and Fatah movements to establish a coalition acceptable to the West.
It wasn't clear whether the suspension was the sign of a real crisis or simply a negotiating tactic by Abbas' weakened Fatah party.
Abbas has been pushing Hamas to enter a unity government in hopes of ending an international aid boycott against the Palestinian government. The sanctions were imposed after Hamas defeated the more moderate Fatah in legislative elections early this year, putting the Islamic militant group in control of the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet while the moderate Abbas retained his position as president.
After months of negotiations, participants had reported progress in recent days, raising hopes that a deal was near. In a breakthrough, the sides agreed on a candidate for prime minister, settling last week on a U.S.-educated professor who has good relations with Hamas and Fatah.
But Abbas aide Nabil Amr said the talks had reached a standstill.
"We would say talks are suspended now," he told a news conference. "What we have agreed upon is only the first mile over the 1,000-mile road."
Abbas has met repeatedly over the last week with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to discuss the distribution of government portfolios between their parties, most recently a late-night session that ended early Monday.
Fatah officials have accused Hamas of being unreasonable in demanding control over the powerful finance and interior ministries. The next finance minister would be in charge of persuading the international community to resume aid, while the interior minister oversees security forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Hopefully they can destroy each other.
Unless they recognize Israel's right to exist (the basic requirement one expects of its neighbors) there should be no deal.
SHOCKER!
Muslims are the biggest threat to Islam that has ever existed. Left to their own means, they would kill each other off in a generation. Build a fence around Gaza, check back in 20 years and see who's left.
High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel, WOT
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