February 10, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 21, 1428

RAMALLAH: The success of the Palestinian unity agreement hinges on whether Israel and the West will lift a debilitating political and economic boycott that isolated the current Hamas government.

Signed by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, the deal has been billed as a chance to end fighting in which 100 Palestinians have died in two months, win back Western aid and resume peace efforts.

But Palestinian analysts predicted that while Arab and some European governments could soften a crippling boycott that has caused massive economic misery, they doubted the accord would satisfy Israeli and US conditions.

Prime minister Ismail Haniya, head of the previous Hamas-led government, is to keep his job, the finance ministry goes to internationally respected Salam Fayad, the foreign ministry to a moderate and the interior to an independent.

The accord itself, however, makes no explicit reference to Israel or respecting agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Instead, Abbas calls on Haniya to “respect” agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which Hamas never formally joined, in a letter formally tasking his old nemesis with forming the new cabinet.

Commentators said respecting PLO agreements would amount to implicit recognition of Israel -- hitherto flatly refused by Hamas.

“The success of this government depends on the international community's policy towards it,” said George Giacaman, director of the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy.

“I think the Europeans are more or less ready to deal with it. In my opinion, the Americans and Israelis won't for the moment,” he said.

But the Palestinian press unanimously hailed the agreement, hopeful that it would see the West end its debilitating boycott of the Hamas administration.

“Israel no longer has any pretext to boycott Hamas,” trumpeted Al-Quds, the leading daily, saying the deal should fulfil Western conditions to ending the boycott and resuming peace efforts after a six-year impasse.

“By reaching this agreement the Palestinians are moving the ball into the Israeli-American-European court,” Al-Quds wrote.

Samir Awad, head of the political science department at Bir Zeit, the West Bank's most prestigious university, too predicted that Europe would adopt a more flexible approach, which could isolate Israel and the United States.

“The fact that Saudi Arabia sponsored the agreement will encourage a number of Arab countries to end the blockade on Hamas and the Palestinian government,” the political scientist said

“At the international level, the agreement is going to see breaches in the European position, which could put Israel and the United States in an awkward position,” he added.

The United States has so far withheld comment until it sees details of the deal, although it has reiterated that any government must recognise Israel, renounce violence and comply with past Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.

Israeli officials remained steadfast in those demands on Friday, while newspapers said the government would face an uphill battle in demanding that the international economic boycott of the Palestinian government continues.

“There will be no rejoicing unless the new Palestinian government accepts the Quartet (EU, Russian, UN and US) conditions,” Ophir Pines, a prominent MP in the coalition Labour party, told public radio.

Israel's liberal Haaretz daily said the incoming cabinet “creates a real problem for Israel” in that it will not recognise Israel yet neither is it the same Hamas government that has been in power for nearly a year.

“Israel and the US will have trouble demanding that the international economic boycott of the Palestinian government remain in place,” Haaretz said.—AFP