Abbas optimistic militants can join Palestinian mainstream
AFP
Date: 03-29-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas expressed hope that militants will be brought into mainstream politics after radical group Islamic Jihad attended an PLO executive meeting for the first time.
But Hamas, the biggest rival to the mainstream Fatah, warned there was still much to be agreed before the Islamist group joins the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which groups the main secular factions.
"There is a good chance of at least agreeing on a political programme," Abbas told reporters after the meeting, which officials said focused on how Jiahd and Hamas might join the PLO after years of boycott.
"Our brothers in Islamic Jihad participated in this meeting and our brothers in Hamas will participate in the next meeting," Abbas added.
The PLO executive committee issued a statement condemning Israeli settlement activity and accused the Jewish state's "racist" separation fence across the West Bank of stealing Palestinian land.
Mohammed al-Hindi, a Jihad leader, said the talks covered politics, how the PLO will evolve in the future and "how and on what basis Hamas and Islamic Jihad would join the PLO".
As things stand, he said it was still "too early" for Jihad to decide to join the PLO. "There has been no decision so far," he stressed.
Instead, another meeting would be held in Gaza City within a month, followed by a subsequent gathering abroad of top-level leaders from all factions.
"All secretary generals of all factions will attend this meeting, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas. I think Hamas will participate in the next two meetings," Hindi said.
Islamic Jihad and Hamas have shown signs of easing their voluntary boycott of the political mainstream since Abbas replaced the late Yasser Arafat as Palestinian leader in January.
Speaker of the PLO parliament Salim Zaanun said he would liaise with all secretary generals, including those of Hamas and Jihad, to prepare for the next round of talks.
"I am confident that Hamas and Islamic Jihad will enter the PLO, but we need more discussions," he said.
But although Hamas has declared its willingness to join, the faction snubbed Tuesday's talks and one of its West Bank leaders said membership could still be some time off.
"There are still a lot of issues regarding the political programme, charter and institutions of the PLO that need to be agreed upon before Hamas actually joins," Hassan Yussef told AFP.
"Hamas does not only want to have a seat. We want to be effective," he said.
Tuesday's meeting followed inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo earlier this month, at which faction members said progress was made towards ironing out persistent political disagreements concerning the PLO.
Sources close to Abbas implied Hamas and Islamic Jihad membership of the PLO was a matter of course, after Hamas agreed to participate in a committee to oversee the process and run for the first time in parliamentary elections.
Based on its success in the July ballot, Hamas will given a quota representation on the PLO central council, which acts as an intermediary body between the PLO executive committee and the Palestinian parliament.
From there, Hamas members will be elected to the executive committee. Talks will then be held on how to reform and restructure the PLO, the sources said.
Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas, violently opposed to Israel, are wedded to the vision of an independent Palestine incorporating the modern-day Jewish state.
The PLO charter calls for the creation of a Palestinian state only in land conquered by Israel in the 1967 war.
Fatah is the largest movement in the PLO, which represents Palestinians living in the occupied territories as well as the diaspora, and controls the Palestinian Authority which was created under the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
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