Fatah to sign proposal for reconciliation with Hamas

FATAH ANNOUNCED it would sign an Egyptian proposal for reconciliation with Hamas yesterday despite a war of words that has created a toxic atmosphere between the increasingly bitter rivals.

Azzam Ahmad, a member of Fatah’s central committee, is expected to travel to Cairo with the movement’s written agreement.

Hamas had asked for the signing to be postponed, protesting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to postpone a debate at the UN Human Rights Council on a report by South African judge Richard Goldstone on war crimes committed during Israel’s war on Gaza early this year.

But Mr Abbas, who heads Fatah, reversed his stand and the debate on the report is scheduled for tomorrow, Cairo’s deadline for signing the deal. This puts pressure on Hamas to sign on time.

The reconciliation process is not due to begin until the end of November, giving Egypt time to bring an end to verbal hostilities.

However, in an address in the West Bank city of Jenin, Mr Abbas yesterday called Hamas-ruled Gaza an “emirate of evil”, accused Hamas leaders of fleeing the Strip during the Israeli offensive, and said Hamas was “looking for any excuse” to “derail unity talks”.

His attack followed Hamas-organised demonstrations against Mr Abbas in Gaza and a mock trial by children sentencing him to life in prison for delaying UN endorsement of the Goldstone report.

Hamas is under strong pressure from Egypt and the Arabs to reconcile with Fatah. But Mr Abbas is caught between the US and Israel, on one hand, and Egypt and the Arabs, on the other.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported that US envoy George Mitchell told Egypt Washington did not support the proposed reconciliation agreement because it did not require Hamas to recognise Israel, halt armed action or accept agreements between Fatah and Israel.

But Mr Abbas is losing his grip on Fatah, which said in a memorandum that “all hopes placed in the new US administration and president [Barack] Obama have evaporated”. Dr Ghassan Khatib of the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority media centre said the authority “cannot say no to the US. This is not healthy.”