Update: Hamas Takes Control of Palestinian Parliament +Related Articles

Update: Hamas Takes Control of Palestinian Parliament +Related Articles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021800558.html

By Scott Wilson: Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 18, 2006; 11:15 AM

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 18 -- The radical Islamic group Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament Saturday during a somber swearing-in ceremony, and legislators from the new majority made clear soon after that they would not abide by signed agreements that recognize Israel's right to exist.

In a speech to the new 132-seat parliament, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas staunchly defended past agreements, including the 1993 Oslo accords that created the Palestinian Authority and the legislature Hamas entered Saturday. He called for the immediate renewal of negotiations with the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, declaring "there is a Palestinian partner" for such talks. Those past agreements were backed by Abbas' Fatah party, now a governing minority for the first time. Hamas, a terrorist organization in the eyes of the United States and the European Union, have favored a military campaign that in the past six years has included more than 50 suicide attacks inside Israel over peace negotiations that have failed to achieve Palestinian independence.

"We, as presidency and government, will continue our commitment to the negotiation process as the sole political, pragmatic and strategic choice through which we reap the fruit of our struggle and sacrifices over the long decades," Abbas told legislators gathered here in the Muqata government compound and those in the Gaza Strip who participated by teleconference.

"As we depend on the negotiation process as a political choice, we should continue to develop other forms of peaceful popular struggle."

During his 50-minute speech, Abbas did not threaten Hamas with losing the right to form the next cabinet if it did not renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state, and abide by past agreements, an ultimatum Israeli officials had hoped he would deliver as they consider economic sanctions against the Palestinian Authority that includes Hamas.

Abbas, who remains president of the Palestinian Authority, said Hamas would choose the next prime minister and form the cabinet after winning a 74-seat parliamentary majority in Jan. 25 elections and creating in his words "a new political reality."

But his speech gave shape to the political conflict ahead as Abbas and a cabinet led by Hamas, known formally as the Islamic Resistance Movement, struggle to advance their vastly different programs.

Abbas called for consolidating the various Palestinian militias into the state security services, reviving peace negotiations, and religious pluralism, each conflicting to some degree with Hamas' vision of an Islamic Palestinian state on land that now includes Israel.

"We respect the president, but that does not mean we agree with everything he said," said Naif Rajoub, a Hamas legislator from the West Bank City of Hebron. "Oslo has died. Even [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon declared it dead, and he was its chief beneficiary. It is our right to reject it."

In Israel, officials were waiting to see how the debate among the Palestinians plays out. Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and his senior advisers neared agreement Friday on a series of steps that would effectively isolate the Gaza Strip and deprive the nearly bankrupt Palestinian Authority of funding once the radical Islamic group forms a cabinet, according to Foreign Ministry officials.

Core members of Olmert's cabinet did not decide how to proceed after Hamas becomes the majority bloc in the Palestinian parliament. The decision was postponed to give Abbas, whose fractured Fatah party will soon be a minority, the opportunity to address the incoming parliament without new Israeli policies as a backdrop.

"We don't want to preempt anything," said Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman. "We want to see what the Palestinians are going to do Saturday -- what is said and what is done."

Olmert's cabinet is considering about a dozen policy options, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Much of the debate Friday focused not only on which options to implement but also on their timing, the officials said.

The recommendations, which the cabinet is scheduled to decide on Sunday, include preventing the 4,000 Palestinians in Gaza who work in Israel from continuing to do so, tightening already restrictive procedures at crossing points between Gaza and Israel, canceling permits for Palestinian legislators to travel between the strip and the West Bank, and prohibiting further preparations to reopen Gaza's seaport and international airport. In addition, officials may decide to stop handing over the roughly $55 million a month in sales taxes and customs fees that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority -- transfers that account for about a third of the authority's operating budget.

Olmert decided Friday to prevent Hamas legislators in Gaza from attending the Saturday swearing-in ceremony for the new parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The legislators, including some of Hamas's top leaders, will participate by teleconference.

The package of recommendations was compiled by Israeli officials responsible for the country's security and diplomacy, and it is being shaped in part by the politics of Israel's national election campaign. Officials involved in the discussion said the emerging response should not be viewed as punitive but as reflecting the security concerns that will arise when Hamas takes control of parliament and various ministries.

Israeli officials have said they will allow humanitarian aid to reach the West Bank and Gaza Strip and continue supplying the territories with electricity, a service some defense officials had suggested should end once Hamas joins the government.

But the Israeli moves under consideration would mark a sharp break with the Palestinian Authority and largely abandon Abbas, who as president of the authority maintains explicit control over its security services and has the power to fire the Hamas-appointed prime minister. They also point to Olmert's preferred path if he wins at the polls next month, setting the stage for further unilateral steps to separate Israel from the Palestinian population in the territories.

The Israeli strategy is designed to influence the Hamas leadership -- which has refused international demands that it renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state and abide by previous agreements -- before it forms a cabinet sometime next month. The Palestinian Authority had been dominated by Abbas's secular Fatah party until Hamas, formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, won 74 of parliament's 132 seats in elections last month.

"There is an inextricable link between the larger questions about the future of the West Bank and the peace process and the steps we take in the next month," said an Israeli official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the subject.

With Israel's elections less than six weeks away, Olmert is charting the country's approach to Hamas despite charges by political rivals that his Kadima party is responsible for its shocking victory. Opinion polls show Kadima winning as many as a third of the Israeli parliament's 120 seats in the March 28 elections, far more than its nearest challenger.

While taking a hard line against Hamas may be politically popular, the strategy risks causing the Palestinian Authority to collapse.

As the recognized occupying power in the Palestinian territories, Israel is responsible for the welfare of the 4 million people who live there. The Palestinian Authority, supported by more than $1 billion a year in foreign aid, has provided many essential services since it was created under the terms of the 1993 Oslo accords. Its collapse would require a more direct Israeli role in the territories just as Olmert is trying to implement the popular agenda of reducing Israel's presence there.

"It's a choice between very bad alternatives," the Israeli official said. "Our dilemma is whether we want to allow the Palestinian government to fail on a big scale. But what if Hamas does not fail? What if they succeed?"

Even after the new parliament is sworn in, Abbas will maintain broad powers over diplomatic and security issues, as well as the cabinet itself. He also remains in charge of peace policy with Israel as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which does not include Hamas.

Any financial squeeze Israel might apply would rely on the participation of donor nations, which supply much of the Palestinian Authority's operating budget. This week the United States, which in the past has provided little direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, demanded that the Palestinian Authority return $50 million that President Bush had given in May to show support for Abbas, the State Department said Friday.

The money was intended to fund projects in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal last year, but the Palestinians so far have spent only about $600,000 of it, the State Department said. Abbas agreed to return $49.4 million but was furious at the U.S. demand, according to a source close to the Palestinians.

On its own, Israel exercises direct control over the Palestinians' revenue through its monthly transfer of sales taxes and customs fees.

Olmert authorized the transfer that was scheduled to be made shortly after Hamas's election. But Israeli officials have indicated that transfers will probably be frozen once Hamas joins the government. A decision on the next one must be made by the end of the month.

Those funds are essential in helping the Palestinian Authority pay salaries to approximately 150,000 employees and trainees, 72,000 of whom work for the security services. International agencies estimate that nearly 1 million Palestinians depend on wages from the Palestinian Authority for their livelihoods.

Many of them are followers of Fatah, whose leaders have so far rejected Hamas's invitation to join the next cabinet. Fatah leaders say Hamas should be given the opportunity to fail on its own.

"It doesn't make sense for Fatah to boycott the government if the president is still Fatah," said Ziad Abu Amr, who won a legislative seat running as an independent from Gaza with backing from Hamas. The new majority party would also have to compromise, he suggested. "Hamas has to adapt to this new reality like everyone else."

The Bush administration sought to weaken the post of the Palestinian Authority president when it was held by Yasser Arafat, the late leader whom U.S. and Israeli officials considered an obstacle to the two-state solution outlined in the U.S.-backed peace plan known as the "road map." U.S. officials successfully pushed for the creation of the prime minister's post -- which was first filled by Abbas -- but Arafat retained control of the security services and the cabinet.

Under the Palestinian Basic Law, Abbas remains the "supreme commander" of the security services and serves as chairman of the National Security Council. He also has authority to fire the prime minister and disband the cabinet.

But the law does not give him the ability to dissolve the legislature and call early elections, and the outgoing parliament declined to give him that authority in its final session this week. It did, however, authorize Abbas, known commonly as Abu Mazen, to appoint members of a constitutional court with the power to rule on the legitimacy of future laws.

"By voting last-minute laws, Abu Mazen showed that Fatah is ready to do anything to protect its corrupt system," said Ahmed Hadj Ali, a Hamas legislator whom Israel released from jail this week. "Maybe the people will be forced to ask for a new presidential election because he is not respecting their will."

Staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company
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Abbas: Hamas must talk peace
Saturday 18 February 2006, 16:34 Makka Time, 13:34 GMT    

Abbas says Hamas's victory has led to a new political reality

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has told the new Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament that it must work with Israel to find a negotiated solution to conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking at the swearing in of new MPs at the parliament building in the West Bank town of Ram Allah, the Palestinian leader said the next government must recognise existing peace agreements and commit to peace negotiations as the "sole ... strategic choice" of the Palestinians.

Abbas also came down hard on Israel, which has said it will not negotiate with a Hamas administration.

"We totally reject (Israel's) unilateral approach and exhort the peace-loving world, namely the quartet and American administration, to make serious, immediate efforts to restart negotiations on the basis of the signed agreements, namely Oslo and the roadmap," he said.

New reality

New Hamas MP Ismail Haniya, the man widely tipped to be the next prime minister, said his party had political differences with Abbas but that they would be "resolved by dialogue".

However, another Hamas spokesman rejected Abbas' calls for talks with Israel.

Mushir al-Masri said negotiations with Israel were "not on our agenda".

Hamas is expected to nominate Haniya as the next PM

Abbas offered his help and encouragement in the speedy creation of a new administration. He said the Hamas victory in last month's parliament election - and the defeat of his own Fatah Party - had led to new political reality. "Therefore, it (Hamas) will be asked to form the new government," Abbas told Saturday's opening session.

Gaza gathering

The swearing-in follows Hamas's sensational victory last month over Abbas' Fatah party, winning 74 seats to Fatah's 45.

Hamas MPs in the Gaza Strip participated in the inauguration ceremony via video link-up, because Israel had banned them from travelling to the West Bank.

Nearly 2000 diplomats and other VIPs gathered in a government complex to view the parliament session, along with about 100 women from the Hamas Women's Union, their faces covered by veils.

The new parliament is only the second legislature to be inaugurated since 1994.

Proceedings were briefly disturbed when about 100 policemen staged an angry protest outside the building demanding the payment of delayed salaries.

Hamas is widely expected to nominate Haniya as prime minister. He is one of the movement's Gaza-based leaders and considered a pragmatic radical by many.

Aziz al-Duwaik, a geography professor from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, has already been chosen as the speaker of parliament.

Sanctions expected

The 132-seat parliament is only the second sworn in since 1994

Hamas, deemed a terrorist organisation by the United States and several other Western nations, has called for the destruction of Israel.
  
Horrified at the prospect of what it considers a terrorist government, Israel is expected to greet the new parliament by approving a series of sanctions directed at restricting Palestinian residents, goods and finances.

One possible move is an immediate freeze on the transfer of customs duties collected by Israel on Palestinians' behalf - about $50 million a month or about one-third of the Palestinian Authority's annual budget.

Haniya has already lambasted the plans as a "policy of repression, terrorism and collective punishment against our people."

Agencies
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Hamas: Take us off terror list
Saturday 18 February 2006, 12:29 Makka Time, 9:29 GMT    

Hamas will dominate the new Palestinian parliament

Hamas has demanded that it be removed from the US list of suspected terror organisations as the Palestinian movement prepares to enter government for the first time.

Moussa Abu Marzouq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said the inclusion of Hamas on the US list could not be justified, especially when the movement is "deeply rooted" in Palestinian society as demonstrated by its victory in last month's legislative elections.

He said: "No state shouldering its responsibility in the region could keep Hamas on the list of terror organisations, because Hamas is a national liberation movement that confines its struggle to the occupied territories and had never targeted its weapons outside Palestine."

Hamas scored a convincing victory in Palestinian elections on 25 January and will dominate the new parliament after it is inaugurated on Saturday.

The militant group has named Mahmoud al-Zahar, from Gaza, as head of the Hamas  parliamentary party and Aziz Dweik, from the West Bank, as the parliament’s speaker.

Israel-Turkey spat

"No state shouldering its responsibility in the region could keep Hamas on the list of terror organisations"

Moussa Abu Marzouq, a member of Hamas's political bureau

There has been speculation that Hamas would name another of its leaders, Ismail Haniyeh, as the new prime minister, but no announcement has yet been made.

The United States and European Union brand Hamas a terrorist group and have said vital direct aid can be cut if Hamas does not soften its stance on Israel.

Washington rules out any talks until Hamas recognises Israel. The European Union has said it will only work with a government that uses peaceful means.

Meanwhile, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel have cooled slightly after Hamas’s exiled leader, Khalid Mishaal, made a surprise visit to Ankara this week.

A spokesman for Raanan Gissin, the Israeli prime minister, asked how Turkey might feel if Israel had invited Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish rebel leader viewed by Turks as a terrorist and now serving a life jail sentence, to Israel.

Turkey responded angrily, a statement from the foreign ministry said: "We think the comparisons made in the statement are completely inappropriate and wrong."

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Q&A: Hamas government formation

Thursday 16 February 2006, 21:31 Makka Time, 18:31 GMT    

Mahmoud Abbas will ask Hamas to name its prime minister

The new Palestinian parliament is to be sworn in on Saturday and Mahmoud Abbas, the president, is expected to ask the resistance movement Hamas to form a government after its election victory.




Here are answers to some questions about how the government will be formed:

What happens at Saturday's parliament session?

Abbas will give a speech asking the new government to respect the Palestinian Authority's commitments and agreements. But he is not expected to demand that Hamas recognise Israel and renounce violence as a precondition to forming the government. Hamas rejects Israel's right to exist and has spearheaded an armed resistance campaign. Hamas will present its own political programme which may not be in harmony with Abbas's commitment to peacemaking, setting the stage for confrontation between the cabinet and president.

How will the new prime minister be chosen?

After the parliament session, Abbas will ask Hamas to name its prime minister.

Ismail Haniyah is tipped to take the job as premier

Abbas will ask him to form a government. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah from the Gaza Strip is tipped to take the job. Deputies will also elect the Palestinian Legislative Council's speaker. The likely candidate will be Hamas's choice Aziz Dweik.

How long will it take to form a government?

According to the law, Hamas has three weeks to form a government with a two-week extension if required. If Hamas fails to form a government during this period, Abbas has the right to ask another parliamentary bloc or anybody from outside parliament to form a government.  Hamas has said its government will be ready by early March.

Who will join the government?

Hamas still hopes to convince Fatah, now the largest opposition group, to join its government.
Fatah has refused. Some Hamas officials say they prefer a national coalition cabinet with other factions and independents, but others say they might appoint only Hamas ministers. Their final decision will be made after Fatah's leadership meets next week.

How will the world deal with a Hamas-led government?

Israel and the United States have already said they will not deal with a Palestinian administration run by Hamas, which appears on US and European Union lists of terrorist groups. The European Union, the biggest donor, has said it will suspend direct aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority unless Hamas renounces violence and recognises Israel. Hamas's first challenge will be dealing with cuts to foreign aid as well as the freezing of some $500 million in taxes transferred by Israel annually to the Palestinian Authority.

Who is Hamas?

Hamas means zeal and is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Resistance Movement).

Hamas says Palestinian land should not be given up  

Formed in 1987 at the beginning of the first intifada against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas is the largest Palestinian resistance movement. The movement is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwanul Muslimeen). Hamas enjoys wide support among Palestinians, mainly in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The movement has a social-welfare and military wing, but is perhaps better known in the West for the latter. Its social-welfare activities include the running of schools, clinics and welfare programmes. Hamas' military wing has engaged in armed resistance to Israeli occupation including attacks on Israeli targets and Israel.

Israel often targets the movement's leaders for assassination. One of the movement's founders and spiritual leader, Shaikh Ahmad Yasin was killed in a missile attack on 22 March 2004, after an unsuccessful attempt on his life six months before.

Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi, who became leader after Yasin's killing, too was assassinated by Israel on 17 April 2004.

Hamas, according to its manifesto, believes that "the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf (trust) consecrated for future Muslim generations... It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up".

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Gaza voices: Hopes and fears for the future
Saturday 18 February 2006, 15:25 Makka Time, 12:25 GMT    

The surprise Hamas victory in January's Palestinian parliamentary election sent shockwaves throughout the Middle East and around the world.

As Hamas takes over the reins of power, question marks remain over the future of the peace process with Israel while the prospect of Palestinian statehood seems to many to be more distant than ever.

We often hear comments from politicians, social and religious leaders.

But what do ordinary Palestinians on the street feel?

Aljazeera.net's Laila El-Haddad spoke to nine Gaza residents about their hopes and fears for the future:

Ibrahim Ismail Odeh, 55 ~ Doorman
"Fatah has been around since 1965 and what have they done for us? They brought doomsday upon us.

I want to see the new Hamas government control the lawlessness, deal with the corruption and bring to account the people who stole our money and jobs. I want national unity for any Palestinian society because it’s the best for our interests. But it won’t be easy with Fatah and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - they want a civil war.

I am confident things will go well and the US and Israel will accept the government. I don’t care about forgoing US foreign aid. I’ll eat weeds and chard if I have to rather than allow Israel and the US to have their way with us."

Rami Balwai, 22 ~ al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Beit Hanun
"Things were better under Fatah. We had money coming in every month, and now the funding has stopped. The Palestinian people chose Hamas and must bear the consequences. So long as Hamas is in any government, there can be no unity. I am worried that Hamas will refuse to negotiate; that it will refuse to recognize Israel. How will the borders remain open if it doesn’t negotiate with Israel?

Hamas has two choices: They either destroy themselves by giving up their charter and betraying the platform they ran on, or they lose funding and people’s support. Either way it’s a losing game."

Ahlan Imkhayer, 25 ~ CAT Scan technician
"I didn’t expect this result at all, but I hope our society made the right choice. I hope as much as possible for real, tangible change, and for a resolution to the problem of security - especially as it relates to the lives of young people.

There is absolute lawlessness and chaos permeating college campuses here. It is in complete disarray, from attendance to lectures, nothing goes according to schedule, and there is a lot of institutional corruption and moral decay. Gunmen hijack the campuses and enforce their own rules. Honestly, we are sick of it. They also need to find jobs for the tens of thousands of young unemployed graduates."

Safiyah Barakat, 50 ~ Livestock merchant
"I want to see Fatah and Hamas get along and deal as a unit with those evil people who are responsible for shooting at people, for wrongdoing, for the lawlessness in our society.

I also want the new government to help the poor, those who can’t help themselves or feed themselves. I have 12 heads to feed-including my two married sons who can’t support their families. Look at me, thrown on the streets of the souq just to make a living."

Khamees Akeela, 35 ~ Restaurateur
"I hope the situation improves. I would like to see the new government find a solution to the border, so they aren’t closing one day and opening the next. But above all I want security, safety, and stability. I want to live like everyone else. But in order to achieve these things, they must be flexible and be willing to negotiate."

Riyad Ni’mami, 34 ~ Strawberry farmer
"I would like to see the government find a solution to the commercial crossings on which our lives as farmers depend. Now the Israelis close it whenever they like, at a whim, usually to coincide with the harvest. The PA has been around for 12 years and for what? As farmers we’ve been ruined.  We haven’t benefited at all from recent agreements with Israel that would have supposedly kept the commercial crossing open on a consistent basis.

I voted for the PFLP and would like to see them join forces with Hamas. At this point, any change is good. I am, you can say, a pess-optimist - I am hopeful, but at the same time, I cannot judge what’s to come. Things might be worse than before."

Laila Dabbagh, 57 ~ Antiques and handicrafts seller
"If things stay like this, the future is bleak. I don’t want anything from the new government. I just ask God to calm the spirits and the situation. They have to deal first with the lawlessness. We need to need take the first step. We have to stop firing these rockets. We need to adhere to a period of calm so we can take a step back and assess our situation better. We need to become more stable.

Right now nothing is in our favor, especially with the US backing Israel. The new government has to face reality. Our problem is not with Israel, it’s with ourselves. Why don’t the different factions agree with each other instead of digging holes for each other? We’re never lived at a worse level.  People are sleeping at night afraid - if not because of Israel shells, then from the lawlessness in the streets."  

Mohammad Hinbawi, 57 ~ Confectioner/Street vendor
"The past government was no help whatsoever for people and their families. We expect this government will be better because they know and fear God’s laws. So if aid comes in from foreign governments we are certain it will get to those who need it this time. I would particularly like to see improvements in the health sector. Under the current system, its all about how important you are and who you know. If a general’s son needs care, he gets it instantly. But ordinary people like us?  

I also want them to focus on the unemployment by building factories, so we don’t have to depend on the Israeli economy for everything. I want the government to work outside of the framework of dependence on Israel in regards to work and trade and natural resources, such as gas. We should focus on building an independent economy."  

Abeer Abo Shahla, 38 ~ Nursery school director
"I am optimistic about the future. At first I was shocked like everyone else. But when that initial shock faded away I was still hopeful.  Safety is the most important thing for me. We’ve passed through a very difficult period where people can get away with anything - there were days I was afraid my own son might be kidnapped. I hope the new government can deal with this quickly.

I also hope they don’t turn to extremism - I was initially afraid they would enforce their strict interpretation on everyone; by closing down restaurants where there are mixed gatherings, or by being selective and discriminatory in whom they choose to employ in their institutions. But now I realize they are more responsible than that."

Interviews and pictures by Laila El-Haddad @
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