Palestinian factions look for the Government of national unity, elections - Bloomberg Plan

Palestinian Fatah's delegation Chief Azzam al-Ahmad, right, shakes hands with the Deputy leader of the Hamas Musa Abu Marzouk after a joint in the Cairo press conference. Photographer: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

The rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah reached a preliminary agreement almost to end their broken four years and form a Government of national unity.

The agreement calls for legislative and presidential elections in a year, Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad, said in an interview yesterday after a press conference jointly with the Hamas negotiators.

The Egypt, who acted as a mediator during the secret negotiations, will host a meeting of Palestinian factions, for a formal signing ceremony, next week, said al-Ahmad.

"Today, we open a new page of unity and of the Convention, to tighten the ranks and who fight together," Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said. The formation of a Government of technocrats unit will begin next week after the signing of the agreement, said.

Israel said the deal would kill any chance for the talks of peace and the U.S. said that Hamas cannot play a "constructive role" and that it is not prepared to accept the Israel right to exist. Hamas--considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel - rejects the peace negotiations and refused to recognize the Jewish State.

The Palestinian movement follows protests in March in which thousands of Palestinians, inspired by the popular uprisings in Egypt, the Tunisia and the Libya, rallied in support of reconciliation between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah Palestinian Authority, including the rules of the West Bank.

Gazans celebrated yesterday in the streets, Mkhaimar Abusada, political scientist at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said in a telephone interview.

"This is a very important for the Palestinian people", Abusada said.

The announcement comes as officials of the Palestinian Authority to make pressure on Western countries to recognize a Palestinian State in September.

"If we think the Palestinian Authority being seriously to the Declaration of the State in September, it would have been absurd with both authorities," said Jonathan Spyer, political scientist at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, outside Tel Aviv. "We will see how far they get."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that a unity agreement would end any chance of peace talks, stalled since September, between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

"The Palestinian Authority must choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas," Netanyahu said in comments sent by e-mail to diffusion. "The very idea of reconciliations shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority."

Fearful United States

The Obama administration sounded a note is wary following the announcement. "As we said, the United States support Palestinian reconciliation to conditions that promote the cause of peace,", said the National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.

"Hamas, however, is a terrorist organization which target civilians," he said in a statement by e-mail. "To play a constructive role in the achievement of peace, any Palestinian Government must accept the Quartet principles and renounce violence, abide by past agreements and recognize the right of Israel to exist."

Hamas and Fatah officials said that both parties would form a Committee to address the issue of security in a unity Government.

The separation between the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and the Islamic Hamas movement dates to 2007, when Hamas ousted forces Abbas of the Gaza Strip, a year after winning the elections. That ended a Government coalition with Fatah and Abbas left in control of the West Bank.

March 16, Abbas said that he wished to visit Gaza in a bid to heal the divide which has forced delays in the plans to hold elections.

The Israeli army and the Egypt two sealed off its borders with Gaza after Hamas took over, cutting most civilian traffic and restrict trade with the territory. Israel has maintained a land and sea blockade on Gaza since then.

Leaders of the Palestinian Authority have said they will seek United Nations recognition of a State in September if negotiations with Israel are not repries.

The peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fell down several weeks after that they started in September 2010, when Netanyahu refused to extend a partial construction of 10-month freeze in the West Bank and Abbas said he wouldn't negotiate until all the construction was interrupted.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mariam Fam in Cairo to mfam1@bloomberg.net; Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at the gackerman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew j. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net

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