RAMALLAH, Oct 28: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas told the EU’s top diplomat that he would dissolve the Hamas-led government within two weeks if the militant group doesn’t agree to form a governing coalition with his Fatah Party, Palestinian officials said Friday.
Mr Abbas told EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that he would replace the current government with a cabinet of apolitical professionals, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk with the press.
Abbas has promoted the idea of such a cabinet before, but had pledged not to force it on a reluctant Hamas. His new stand suggests a willingness to take a stronger line against Hamas in an attempt to ease crippling Western sanctions designed to force Hamas to moderate its militantly anti-Israel ideology.
Mr Solana, in the region trying to breathe new life into peace efforts, urged Palestinian leaders to move with urgency to form a so-called national unity government and ease the deepening plight of the Palestinian people.
After meeting with Abbas on Friday, Solana told reporters that the Palestinian leader ‘is determined to move the process of the government to be table ... for it to be accepted by the international community’.
The EU, US and other donors cut off hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas-led government took office in March. Despite growing hardship in the Palestinian areas, Hamas has rejected international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Mr Abbas, seeking to get the sanctions lifted, has been pushing the Islamic group to enter into a coalition with his more moderate Fatah party. After months of unsuccessful negotiations, Abbas said Thursday there was no point in further dialogue. But Hamas and Fatah officials are to meet in Damascus under Syria’s sponsorship in coming days to try to cobble together an alliance.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said Hamas was unaware of Abbas’ two-week deadline.
“I don’t think it is wise of Abu Mazen to aggravate this crisis,” Barhoum said, referring to Abbas by his commonly known name.
“Nevertheless, our position is firm: We are working on forming a national unity government,” he said.
Mr Abbas, elected separately last year5, has the authority to dismiss the government. But any new Cabinet would require the approval of the Hamas-controlled government, and if Abbas fails to win that approval, he could be forced to call new elections. Polls show Fatah and Hamas virtually tied, however, and new elections would be a risky move.
The Fatah-Hamas struggle has touched off deadly clashes between rival security forces, and Palestinian officials from both parties said they would increase police presence on the streets of Gaza following talk of heightened unrest on Saturday.
During a stop in a West Bank refugee camp on Friday, Solana expressed hope the Palestinians would soon form a new government more acceptable to the international community because sanctions have taken a heavy toll on ordinary Palestinians.
“The problem is now that the political solution may arrive too late. Things may get too bad that it will be difficult to recuperate. We have to reverse the situation,” he said during his visit to the Askar camp.
Mr Solana, who is on a six-day mission to the region, met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday and left for Lebanon on Friday. He has meetings planned in Egypt on Sunday. —AP
