Hamas deals swift blow to peace deal hopes

· We will never recognise Israel, says Gaza leader
· Mecca deal brings hostile reaction in Jerusalem

 

Ian Black, Middle East editor

The Guardian   Saturday February 10, 2007

 

Renewed hopes for a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process suffered an early blow yesterday when the Palestinian movement Hamas pledged it would never recognise Israel, only hours after signing a Saudi-backed national unity agreement to help stave off an incipient civil war.

 

Nizar Rayyan, a Hamas leader in Gaza, brushed aside any room for ambiguity. He told Reuters: "We will never recognise Israel. There is nothing called Israel, neither in reality nor in the imagination."

 

This unequivocal language followed overnight celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank, and punctured a rare burst of cautious optimism about Thursday's power-sharing deal between the Islamists of Hamas and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

 

Arab hopes had focused on ending both the internal crisis and the international boycott in force since Hamas won last year's elections. The consequences have included the siege of Gaza, rocket attacks on Israel, war in Lebanon and hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israelis, as well as nearly 100 victims of internecine fighting. Fifteen Israelis died during the same period. The peace process disappeared and Iranian influence in the region increased.

 

The Mecca agreement should make it harder for Israel to resist pressure to end the sanctions. Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas will remain prime minister, but Salam Fayyad, admired in the US and Europe, is designated finance minister, a safe pair of hands to administer vital foreign assistance. The interior minister, running the security forces, will be an independent figure in the more moderate new government.

 

Optimism may be unwarranted because the agreement made no mention of recognising Israel, a requirement demanded by Israel itself and laid down by the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the UN, EU, US and Russia - for lifting the sanctions. Mr Abbas had wanted a clear statement that the new government would be "committed" to past peace accords, as a formula offering at least implicit recognition of Israel from Hamas.

 

But a letter from Mr Abbas called on the Islamist movement to "abide by the interests of the Palestinian people" and "respect international law and agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation". That includes the 1993 Israeli-PLO Oslo agreement and the 2002 Arab League peace plan. Progress depends on fudges like this being ignored so that Mr Abbas is given a mandate to negotiate with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, while Hamas leaders look the other way.

 

Movement also depends on Israel pragmatically ignoring the Hamas presence - effectively accepting that Mr Abbas's deeds matter more than Islamist words.

 

Tzahi Hanegbi, head of the foreign affairs committee of the Israeli parliament, said Mr Abbas had "awarded a significant victory to Hamas".

 

"The chance of advancing an effective initiative and an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has receded."

 

The US said the terms of the agreement had to be accepted "clearly and credibly" while the EU said it would study it "in a positive but cautious manner". France welcomed it while Britain called the accord "interesting".

 

Pressure has been mounting in recent weeks for a review of the EU position on sanctions that have caused ordinary Palestinians to suffer while neither weakening nor changing Hamas.

 

Nabil Amr, an aide to Mr Abbas, told Reuters: "I cannot say, and we don't have great expectations, that this agreement will completely end the siege, but it will pave the way to end it."

 

Palestinians should quickly feel the benefit of Saudi funding, clearing the way for full salary payments for public sector employees for the first time since Hamas came to power. Israel looks likely to continue withholding tax revenues.