Will Hamas recognize Abbas as president?

  Hamas sends conflicting signals on Abbas' term

 

DAMASCUS (AP) - Hamas leaders sent conflicting signals over whether the group will still recognise political rival Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinians when his term ends Thursday night.

 

The mixed messages came as the group was considering a truce deal that is expected to involve Abbas' Palestinian Authority. The group had said it had reservations about the Egyptian peace proposals.

 

A joint statement issued by Damascus-based Palestinian factions later Thursday said they rejected the Egyptian proposal to end the Gaza fighting, but it wasn't clear whether Hamas was among those who had signed it.

 

Hamas has previously said that Abbas' term ends at midnight Thursday, after four years in office. That position is disputed by Abbas' aides, who say he could stay till 2010.

 

Hamas Deputy political bureau head Moussa Abu Marzouk reiterated the previous position on Thursday.

 

He told the Associated Press that Abbas will be "a member of the Palestinian people" as of Friday. "As of tomorrow, he does not represent the Palestinian people in his negotiations," he said.

 

Osama Hamdan, Lebanon representative of Hamas who is close to Damascus-based top leader Khaled Mishaal, also said Abbas will be a former president as of Friday.

 

"We are not bound by any negotiation, agreement or understanding he undertakes," Hamdan told Al Manar TV of Lebanon's Hizbollah group, a Hamas ally. He said Hamas will deal with Abbas as leader of Fateh, the main faction in the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

 

That contradicted a statement from the Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, who said Hamas won't challenge Abbas for now. Spokesman Taher Nunu told reporters that a top priority is now to deal with Israel's assault on Hamas targets in Gaza and to seek Palestinian unity. He said that "we will not open the file of the end of President Abbas' term at this stage". Abu Marzouk also said Hamas will "soon" decide on the Egyptian plan.

 

The statement issued by various Palestinian factions in the Syrian capital later Thursday said the plan - proposed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during an Egyptian-French push this week - doesn't provide a good foundation for an acceptable solution to the conflict.

 

The plan undermines Gazans' resistance and gives Israel "a free hand" to continue its aggression, the statement said. It was issued by a coalition of Damascus-based Palestinian groups that normally include Hamas, but it wasn't immediately clear if Hamas had signed this particular note.

 

Hamas officials in Syria were not available for comment and Hamdan said he was not aware of the statement.

 

The Egyptian plan aims at ending the Gaza fighting and stopping both Hamas' rocket fire into Israel and arms-trafficking for the fighters, as well as to have the Israeli troops pull out.

 

 

 

9 January 2009