Fatah, Hamas move toward unity

TEL AVIV — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced an agreement in principle yesterday on the formation of a unity government comprising ministers from their rival Fatah and Hamas parties.

The final agreement is expected to include an implicit recognition of Israel by Hamas, but it was not clear whether it would go far enough to end an international aid boycott that has paralyzed the Palestinian government and left its workers unpaid for months.

The United States and European Union have insisted that aid cannot resume until the Palestinian government recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and agrees to honor previous treaties with the Jewish state.

Mr. Abbas and Mr. Haniyeh announced their agreement following weekend talks in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. A spokesman for Mr. Abbas said he hoped to conclude all the details within 48 hours.

Mr. Abbas hopes to persuade Hamas to sign on to a three-year-old Saudi peace formula calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since 1967 in return for full peace, and to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization’s role as the body responsible for negotiating international agreements.

“An agreement in principle was reached,” said Saeb Erekat, a peace negotiator and aide to Mr. Abbas, “but there are many details to be ironed out, like composition of the government and the program of the government.”

There was some doubt that all the questions could be resolved within the 48-hour time frame. Indeed, Palestinian officials in late June announced the creation of a unity government that never materialized.

Since then, Hamas has come under intense pressure to strike a power-sharing deal with Fatah that would restore billions of dollars of annual aid that pays the salaries of some 140,000 employees.

The Palestinian Authority has been shut down for a week by striking civil servants who are protesting the government’s failure to pay salaries for the past six months.

While there was no direct U.S. endorsement of the accord between Palestinian factions, the State Department said yesterday that any Palestinian government must renounce violence and accept Israel’s right to exist to join now-dormant Mideast peacemaking efforts and qualify for a resumption of full Western aid.

State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the Palestinian government must accept the “three principles of peace” — disavowal of terror and violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements between the two sides, including a peacemaking process, the Associated Press reported.

The top editor of Hamas’ weekly newspaper in the West Bank confirmed Israeli newspaper reports that the Islamic militants had agreed to support the Saudi peace initiative, but no confirmation was offered by Hamas officials yesterday.

“If we are united, then we can present ourselves as a strong group to the international community and the world,” said Yazeed Khader, the editor of the Hamas weekly.

Israeli press reports said that Mr. Haniyeh was expected to remain prime minister in the new government.

Hamas’ surprise victory in a January parliamentary vote gave it a majority of the Palestinian legislators and exclusive control over the Palestinian Cabinet.

Since then, the Islamic militants have refused to budge from their rejection of peace talks and refusal to recognize Israel.

During coalition talks with Hamas, Mr. Abbas has pushed for a political program based on a joint declaration issued by imprisoned Palestinian militants from both Fatah and Hamas.

Known as the “prisoners document,” the declaration affirms the role of the plo — headed by mr. Abbas — as the political body responsible for negotiating international peace treaties aimed at establishing a palestinian state. Many consider ratification of the document an implicit recognition of israel.

Nevertheless, Israeli officials said that they would insist that any new government meet the conditions of the international community on the peace process and free an Israeli soldier being held in Gaza since June.

Such a development “would put Palestinian-Israeli talks on track,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. “Short of that would be a recipe for further stagnation, which is neither an Israeli nor a Palestinian interest.”