United States remains on sidelines over deal signed between Hamas,Fatah to end long-running discord between rival Palestinian movements. Says it is an internal affair
The United States Monday remained on the sidelines over a deal signed between Hamas and Fatah to end a long-running discord between rival Palestinian movements, saying it was an internal affair.
“As we’ve said many times, questions of Palestinian reconciliation are an internal matter for Palestinians,” said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
The accord signed in Qatar was welcomed by officials from both Palestinian movements, but Israel warned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to choose between reconciliation with Hamas and making peace with the Jewish state.
Nuland highlighted that Hamas, an Islamist group which runs the Gaza Strip, was considered a terrorist organization by Washington and stressed the US expectations of the Palestinian leadership “have not changed.”
“Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence. It must recognize the state of Israel and it must accept the previous agreements and obligations between the parties, including the road map,” she said.
The so-called “Doha Declaration” is the latest attempt by the rival Palestinian movements to implement a reconciliation deal signed last April.
The declaration calls for a government of “independent technocrats” to oversee reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip and to “facilitate the implementation of presidential and parliamentary elections.”
But it comes as the Middle East peace process has ground to a halt since late 2010.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas had to choose to “abandon the path of peace” if he implements a reconciliation deal with Hamas.
The European Union offered qualified support Monday, saying it considered Palestinian reconciliation and elections as important steps toward an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
The EU, one of the major financial backers of the Palestinian Authority, “looks forward to continuing its support,” provided the new Palestinian government is committed to nonviolence, recognizes Israel and supports a negotiated solution to the Mideast conflict, said Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Abbas backs those requirements, while Hamas rejects them.
I wonder if Qatar has agreed to take over the financing in Egypt that has been the province of the U.S. for so many years? Egypt is thumbing its nose at the U.S. and threatening to take the U.S. and other countries’ aid workers to trial for supposedly promoting democracy in an Islamic nation. Then we see Qatar brokering an agreement between Fatah and Hamas which probably also involves monetary aid. It looks like they are trying to present a united front in the Middle East.
But if any Muslim country or group presents a further threat to Jews and Christians in Israel, threatens the religious sites Jews and Christians hold dear, Americans and others will be down their throats. Muslims have two holy cities in Arabia. Jews and Christians have one holy city in Jerusalem. Thus it shall always be.
Abbas definitely does not back those requirements.
Anything Israel does west of the Yarmuk and Yarden is also an “internal” matter. Other nations are invited to butt out.
Pali terrorists as satyagrahis.
ROTFLMAO.
Gandhi has got to be spinning in his grave.