Abbas and Hamas / Time to press Hamas

By Danny Rubinstein

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas sounded tough and decisive yesterday when he presented what amounts to an ultimatum to the Hamas leadership: If we cannot reach an agreement within 10 days, we will go to a referendum. The agreement Abbas is seeking is approval of the "prisoners' covenant." It was drafted in the Hadarim prison by the secretary general of the Fatah movement, Marwan Barghouti, and the leaders of the prisoners identified with Hamas and other Palestinian groups. The core of the covenant is the willingness to establish a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Abbas is demanding Hamas clearly state whether it accepts this idea. Abbas' resolute statements, made yesterday at the start of the "national dialogue" among all the Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza (by video conference), probably attest to the fact that Abbas is convinced he can force Hamas to accept the prisoners' covenant. Abbas also believes that in a referendum he would win the support of a large portion of the Palestinian public: Most of Hamas' support during the elections came not because of the diplomatic or ideological stands of the movement, but because of its promise to fight the corruption and waste that plagued the Fatah government. According to their statements yesterday, the Hamas leaders clearly seem to lack any desire to be dragged into a referendum that they can be expected to lose. Senior Hamas leaders like Parliament Speaker Aziz Duek, cabinet spokesman Razi Hamad and others said they have no particular problem with accepting Abbas' demand. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh emphasized that there is no real difference between the Palestinian groups' diplomatic positions. FULL STORY at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/719970.html