Same Ole Hamas – Same Ole Fatah – A Billion Dollars Richer!
The Mecca Conference – A Slap in the Face of the Peace Quartet’s Requirements!
February 9, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Hamas went into the Mecca Conference saying they would not agree to end terrorist acts against Israel, or recognize her as a nation, or agree to abide by negotiation agreements made previously by the PA with
Israel.
They kept their promise, yet will receive a billion dollars from Saudi Arabia as a reward for their stubbornness. The only thing Hamas and Fatah accomplished was to agree to stop killing each other.
The two articles from the Jerusalem Post give details of the Conference, and the effect of its outcome on the Peace Quartet, which consists of the U.S., U.N., E.U., and Russia.
Begin Extract from Article One in The Jerusalem Post
Hamas and Fatah sign Unity Accord
Khaled Abu Tomeh, THE JERUSALEM POST
February 8, 2007
Saudi Arabia promised $1 billion in aid to the Palestinians after they agreed to the formation of a unity government, a senior Hamas official s
aid Thursday.
The Saudi pledge to provide massive financial aid to the Palestinians prompted Fatah and Hamas leaders to announce in Mecca on Thursday that they had finally struck a deal on a unity government.
The two parties also agreed that the political platform of the unity government would not require Hamas to abide by previous agreements signed between the PLO and Israel, one of the three conditions the Quartet had set for granting the Hamas
government legitimacy.
Instead, the unity government has been asked to “honor” the agreements with Israel, as well as resolutions of the United Nations and Arab summits pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Moreover, the Fatah-Hamas agreement does not require the unity government to explicitly recognize Israel’s right to exist or Hamas to renounce violence, which was another of the Quartet’s requirements.
The two parties agreed to end internecine fighting and to work toward consolidating national unity.
Begin Extract from Article Two in Jerusalem Post
‘Quartet will not accept new PA Gov’t’
Rebecca Anna Stoil, THE JERUSALEM POST
February 9, 2007
Iranian influence over Hamas will preclude the Quartet from approving a Palestinian national unity government, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter predicted on Thursday.
He spoke just before Fatah and Hamas leaders announced in Mecca that they had struck a deal on a government that would not require Hamas to abide by previous agreements signed between the PLO and Israel. This agreement violates the Quartet’s three principles for recognizing a government which include recognizing Israel, abiding by past agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and renouncing violence.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on the last day of a four-day North American trip, Dichter said that the Saudi-brokered Palestinian cease-fire talks in Mecca “are one of the main issues” that he discussed with his American counterparts during the less than 48 hours in Washington.
“We h ave found common ground between Americ
a and Israel that the creation of a unity government without accepting the three conditions of the Quartet is meaningless. We are on the right road, but if [they don’t accept the conditions], we’ll be stuck in the same problems,” Dichter explained.
The former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head and Brookings Institute fellow said that the Quartet’s plans were being derailed by none other than the long arm of Iran, which, according to Dichter, maintained a “northern front” against Israel through Hizbullah and a “southern front” through Hamas.
“Khaled Mashaal, as the leader of Hamas, is coordinating with Iran every step that is happening with Abu Mazen,” Dichter explained, adding: “That’s why I am not that optimistic about the possibility that after the summit we will see a decision made to accept the conditions of the Quartet.”
According to Dichter, both the Democratic-controlled Congress and the Bush administration were interested in hearing about the Iranian connection with both Hamas and Hizbullah. State Department officials and Dichter discussed “Iran as a state of terror that supports Hamas and Hizbullah.”
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