by Daniel Siryoti, Yoni Hirsch, Israel Hayom Staff and The Associated Press
Prime minister urges international community to reject new Palestinian government after Palestinian Authority President Abbas says Fatah-Hamas unity government will be announced June 2 • If Israel punishes us, we will react to any Israeli move, Abbas warns • US denies inviting Palestinian PM to Washington.
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Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
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Photo credit: Reuters
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Backing a Palestinian unity government "will not
strengthen peace, it will strengthen terrorism," Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu warned Sunday, urging the international community to object to a
future Fatah-Hamas government.
At the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu called on the international community "not to run to recognize the Palestinian government of which Hamas is a part and which rests on Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the destruction of Israel and the international community must not embrace it. This will not strengthen peace; it will strengthen terrorism."
Netanyahu's remarks came one day after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he expects a joint government of his Fatah party and Hamas Islamists will be announced on June 2, completing a unity deal the sides agreed last month.
At the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu called on the international community "not to run to recognize the Palestinian government of which Hamas is a part and which rests on Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the destruction of Israel and the international community must not embrace it. This will not strengthen peace; it will strengthen terrorism."
Netanyahu's remarks came one day after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he expects a joint government of his Fatah party and Hamas Islamists will be announced on June 2, completing a unity deal the sides agreed last month.
Meeting with French peace activists in the West Bank city
of Ramallah, where his limited self-rule government is based, Abbas said: "We
will announce the government the day after tomorrow, it will be formed of
technocrats and independents."
None of the unity government's members would belong to either the
Western-backed Fatah, which rules the West Bank, or Islamist Hamas, which holds
sway in the Gaza Strip, Abbas said.
Abbas also said that Israel had warned him that it would
take punitive steps against the new Palestinian government, such as withholding
the monthly transfer of some $100 million in taxes and customs Israel collects
on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
"The announcement of the government will be on Monday,"
Abbas said. "The Israelis informed us today that they are going to boycott us
immediately after we form the government.
"They are going to withhold our money. This is our money,
not aid from Israel, and we will not stay silent. They want to punish us because
we have an agreement with Hamas, which is part of our people."
Abbas, the head of Fatah, reiterated that the unity
government would follow his pragmatic program.
"We say [the government] is going to recognize Israel,
denounce violence and recognize the international agreements. This is a
technocrat government. It has nothing to do with Fatah, Hamas or any
factions."
A senior Israeli government official said the formation of
a Palestinian unity government "is a great leap backward," but declined to say
whether Israel would take punitive action.
Abbas said that "we are going to react to any Israeli
action."
Abbas did not elaborate. However, Abbas and his aides have
said in the past that they might step up efforts to gain further international
recognition of a state of Palestine. The U.N. General Assembly recognized such a
state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem as a nonmember observer in
2012.
Palestinian officials have said a state of Palestine is
eligible for membership in 63 international organizations, treaties and
conventions. Last month, Abbas signed membership requests for 15 conventions,
and his aides have said the Palestinians planned to sign up for more in several
stages.
The long-running Hamas-Fatah rivalry escalated in 2007
when Hamas violently seized the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Hamas, which has carried
out scores of bombing, shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli targets, is
considered a terror group by Israel and the West.
After the April collapse of U.S.-mediated
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Palestinian rivals revived reconciliation
efforts. Negotiators met repeatedly to agree on a government of technocrats
backed by both sides that is to prepare for general elections in 2015. In recent
days, there were last-minute disagreements, but Abbas' announcement on Saturday
suggested the issues have been resolved.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official said that PA Prime
Minister Rami Hamdallah, who will stay on to head the Palestinian unity
government, had been invited to make an official visit to Washington after the
new government is formed and that U.S. officials had told Palestinian officials
that the White House would support the new government, despite the inclusion of
Hamas.
The U.S. denied this over the weekend, with State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying, "There has been no invitation issued to Prime
Minister Hamdallah. As we've said all along, we'll not make decisions until we
see the final formation of the interim government and have the opportunity to
assess and make a determination about whether this is a government we can work
with. And we will base that assessment on the government's composition,
policies, and actions."
Daniel Siryoti, Yoni Hirsch, Israel Hayom Staff and The Associated Press
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=17903
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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