The war of words between Hamas and its rivals in Fatah has intensified as Egyptian efforts to end the dispute between the two parties and achieve a truce between the Gaza-based factions and Israel appear to have hit a snag.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted on Tuesday as having voiced strong opposition to the idea of establishing a seaport in Cyprus and an airport near Eilat as part of a truce agreement between Hamas and Israel. Abbas reportedly said that such a plan was “destructive to the Palestinian cause and would kill the Palestinian dream of establishing a Palestinian state.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted on Tuesday as having voiced strong opposition to the idea of establishing a seaport in Cyprus and an airport near Eilat as part of a truce agreement between Hamas and Israel. Abbas reportedly said that such a plan was “destructive to the Palestinian cause and would kill the Palestinian dream of establishing a Palestinian state.”
Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah official, told Palestine TV that Abbas has made it clear that such a plan would pass only “over [his] dead body.”
Palestinian reconciliation was the key to resolving all the problems of the Gaza Strip, Sheikh said.
Hamas, he charged, was negotiating a truce agreement that would be comfortable only for itself and Israel.
Hamas is “seeking to consolidate the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip,” Sheikh said. The truce, he added, is a life-save for Hamas, which would no longer feel a need to achieve reconciliation with Fatah.
Palestinian reconciliation was the key to resolving all the problems of the Gaza Strip, Sheikh said.
Hamas, he charged, was negotiating a truce agreement that would be comfortable only for itself and Israel.
Hamas is “seeking to consolidate the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip,” Sheikh said. The truce, he added, is a life-save for Hamas, which would no longer feel a need to achieve reconciliation with Fatah.
The top Fatah official claimed that Hamas has accepted a proposal for a seaport in Cyprus and an airport near Eilat in return for Israeli and American economic and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas officials have denied reports to the effect that Israel had offered their movement a seaport in Cyprus and an airport near Eilat.
Sheikh, who was part of a Fatah delegation that held talks in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials in the past 48 hours, said that the PA and Fatah leaderships were in favor of a comprehensive truce with Israel, “but the reconciliation is now more important because it will lead us towards a period of calm. We will not be part of a truce, and we will resist it and fight against it because it means the destruction of the Palestinian dream of establishing a state.”
The PLO, he said, was the only part authorized to take a decision on a truce with Israel.
“No one authorized Hamas to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people,” Sheikh added.
“No one authorized Hamas to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people,” Sheikh added.
“We say to Hamas: either reconciliation or we will search for other means. We are facing a real chance to achieve reconciliation and Hamas must seize the opportunity.”
For their part, Hamas leaders and spokesmen accused Abbas of hindering the Egyptian efforts by refusing to lift the economic sanctions he imposed on the Gaza Strip last year.
For their part, Hamas leaders and spokesmen accused Abbas of hindering the Egyptian efforts by refusing to lift the economic sanctions he imposed on the Gaza Strip last year.
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