PRE-EMPTING support for a Palestinian government led by Hamas, the UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted the ‘conditions’ set by the Quartet of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia for not boycotting a Hamas-led government in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the new government to be formed after the landslide electoral victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement in the legislative elections on January 25 should respect previous commitments made by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Asked by reporters in Gaza city on Friday whether there would be any conditions to asking Hamas to form a new government, Abbas replied: ‘I’ll ask them to respect Palestinian Authority agreements.
‘I have said from the beginning that I will ask the new government to respect the Authority’s obligations,’ he reiterated.
Senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said he and other Hamas officials were expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City soon.
Abbas also told reporters that he would meet Hamas leaders ‘soon’.
However he indicated that it was ‘still early’ to talk about the formation of the next government, but that it’s likely he’ll eventually entrust Hamas with the task.
‘Officially, the first step is to inaugurate the parliament,’ he announced.
When asked what he would discuss with Hamas, Abbas said, ‘It’s still early to talk of forming the government. We first have to have the (Palestinian Legislative) Council members sworn in and then to elect the speaker. . . After that, we will see about the party that will form the government, and I think it’s going to be Hamas.
‘First of all we will discuss the result of the election and maybe after this we will discuss the preparation of the government,’ Abbas added.
A Hamas three-man delegation, including Said Siam, Mohammed Shamaa and Nizar Awadallah, left Gaza and started a visit to the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday to consult with the group’s political bureau chairman, Khaled Meshaal.
In New York in the meantime, the UN Security Council said in a non-binding statement on Friday that all members of a future Palestinian government must be committed to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the Quartet-drafted and UN-adopted ‘roadmap’ for Middle East peace.
‘The Security Council welcomes President Abbas’ affirmation that the Palestinian Authority remains committed to the roadmap, previous agreements and obligations between the parties, and a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,’ the statement said.
The statement also noted that major donors to the PNA had indicated that they would review future aid to a new Palestinian government ‘against that government’s commitment to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the roadmap.’
The text, read by this month’s UNSC president, US ambassador John Bolton, stressed that all members of a future Palestinian government must be committed ‘to the aforementioned instruments and principles.’
‘The Security Council underlines the need for the Palestinian Authority to prevent terrorist attacks and dismantle the infrastructure of terror,’ the statement added.
The 15-member UNSC however tried a balancing act by repeating the council’s call for a halt to the Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UNSC ‘reiterates its view that settlement expansion must stop,’ the statement read, and voiced the council’s ‘concern’ over the Apartheid Wall Israel is building on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank, dubbed by the Israelis as a ‘security fence’ or barrier.
The Security Council also reaffirmed ‘its profound attachment to the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security’ and reminded both parties of their obligations under the ‘roadmap’.
The council urged both Palestinians and Israelis to ‘avoid unilateral actions which prejudice final status issues’, reminding them of ‘their obligation under the roadmap and on existing agreements including on movement and access’.
Separately, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Friday that Hamas must recognise Israel if it wants to set up the next Palestinian government.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan a day earlier, on Thursday, urged the international community to give Hamas a chance.
However, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Friday that Hamas ‘will never recognise the legitimacy of the Zionist state that was established on our land’, but ‘we will be ready to negotiate’ with Israel ‘the principle of a long-term truce’.
