Nissan to lay off thousands of workers as sales drop    Trump picks Susan Wiles as White House chief of staff    Three charged in connection with Liam Payne's death    Israel passes law to deport relatives of attackers, including citizens    Monkey mayhem in South Carolina after 43 primates escape research facility    Russian anti-war teenager faces five years in jail after failed appeal    Uproar in Ghana after president unveils his own statue    BD and INS partner to elevate standards of infusion care in MENAT    Qassim emir launches 52 health projects costing a total of SR456 million    Dubai Design Week launches its 10th edition, celebrating creativity and innovation    Fakeeh Care Group reports 9M-2024 net profit of SR195.3 million, up 49% y-o-y driven by solid revenue growth and robust profitability    GASTAT: Passengers of public transport bus and train soar 176% and 33% respectively in 2023    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    Arab leaders and heads of state congratulate US President-elect Donald Trump    Neymar suffers muscle tear, out for 4-6 weeks    Suspect arrested for banking fraud totaling SR493 million as Nazaha pursues corruption charges    Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Plan B for Abbas - unity or bust
By Mohammed Assadi andDouglas Hamilton
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 31 - 10 - 2009

President Mahmoud Abbas has no intention of going down in history as the man who legitimized the permanent and possibly fatal division of the Palestinian independence movement.
But he has called an election for January that could be a nail in the coffin of Palestinian unity, assuming his militant political rivals in control of the Gaza Strip are serious about their threat to ban the vote on their territory.
The outcome of an election held in the West Bank but not in the Gaza Strip would be “worse than the two Koreas”, said Zakaria Al-Qaq, an expert on national security issues.
“Here we would see a total rupture for a long period of time,” Qaq said. Gaza would be cut off and the West Bank would end up as little Gazas, with “transportational continuity rather than territorial continuity”.
So why would Abbas take such a gamble?
Political analysts say he knows Israel feels no pressure to negotiate a peace treaty ending its occupation of the West Bank as long as Abbas's Fatah and Hamas – which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist – are divided.
With US-brokered peace negotiations stalled and diplomatic wheels spinning, the Western-backed leader's credibility with his people is bleeding away. He needs to change tack, pick a winning strategy and re-set the starting line for talks.
Last Friday, ahead of a new round of US shuttle diplomacy beginning this weekend, he issued a decree setting Jan. 24 as the date for parliamentary and presidential elections in all the Palestinian territories.
Hamas immediately and predictably rejected the call.
Analysts said Abbas has made Palestinian unity his priority goal and chosen the election deadline as his strategy. He is using it to persuade Hamas to make peace with the Fatah movement and end the deep split in Palestinian ranks.
“Abbas is aware that as long as he negotiates with Israel while he's not in control of Gaza, the Israelis won't give him anything,” said Bassem Zubeidi, political analyst at Birzeit university in the West Bank. After all, he points out, “they didn't concede anything when the Palestinians were united.”
“The only game in town is to end the split. Abbas is taking this path and elections are his strategy,” Zubeidi said.
US President Barack Obama's peace envoy George Mitchell arrived back in the region Thursday to resume shuttle diplomacy aimed at breaking this deadlock, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was due in Israel on Saturday night.
Abbas, 74, has a lot riding on the outcome. Officials say he told Obama last Friday he would not run for re-election unless Israel agreed to freeze the building of settlements in the West Bank, thereby allowing him to resume peace talks without losing all credibility.
Hamas, which advocates the continuation of what it calls armed struggle against “the Zionist occupiers,” would bury Abbas in Gaza if he buckled on this demand. He has already been denounced there as a “traitor” in small demonstrations approved by the militants.
But while the rival factions remain hostile and now appear to be on a collision course, both have left the door open for compromise.
A senior Palestinian official said Abbas would immediately postpone elections if Hamas agreed to a reconciliation pact mediated by Egypt and accepted by Fatah, even if it came at the very last minute, “on January 23rd”.
Holding the ballot in January without Hamas would mean cutting Gaza loose from the West Bank, a massive blow to Palestinian statehood aspirations, analysts believe.
It seems unlikely that the brinkmanship can be dragged out for very long. The Central Election Commission said Thursday that election nominations would open on Nov. 30 and close 12 days later, putting the electoral process firmly on track.
If Hamas still reject a deal, Abbas can condemn them for putting their factional interests above those of 4 million Palestinians, but he will have to live with the ramifications.
“Elections would deepen divisions to a great extent in a way that will hurt Abbas and Hamas equally. This would be suicidal. Personally I cannot see the political gains,” Zubeidi said.
Hamas stunned Fatah and its Western backers in 2006 by winning parliamentary elections, forcing Abbas into a political cohabitation with a movement opposed to peace with Israel as a means to ending occupation, which is his main goal.
This lasted half a year before Abbas dissolved the government. In violent clashes in 2007 Hamas drove Fatah out of Gaza.


Clic here to read the story from its source.