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JERUSALEM — Gaza's Hamas rulers have warned they will appoint their own replacement for Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in January if he does not step aside for elections, threatening a further split among Palestinians that would derail efforts at peace talks with Israel.
Relations between the West Bank, dominated by the moderate Fatah forces of Mr. Abbas, and Gaza were severed almost completely when Hamas wrested military control of the seaside strip in June, 2007. Egyptian-mediated talks have so far failed to reconcile the parties and Mr. Abbas dares not visit Gaza for fear of assassination.
However, until now Hamas has still formally recognized him as the Palestinians' elected president, helping his credibility with voters and permitting him to negotiate with Israel without backlash from Hamas's militant wing.
But a parliamentary resolution adopted yesterday by the government of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who serves as a de-facto Gaza prime minister, states that it will withdraw even that support if Mr. Abbas does not submit to elections when his four-year term expires.
Mr. Abbas has sought legal advice on whether the presidential election can be delayed a year under a loophole in Palestinian law, giving himself more time to produce a peace deal and woo back Palestinian voters. His Fatah party is anxious to prevent a repeat of Hamas's surprise parliamentary majority win in 2006, which led to an international boycott after the Islamist group refused to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.
But if Mr. Abbas's term is extended, Hamas has threatened to ignore it and appoint the Palestinian Legislative Council's Gaza-based deputy speaker, Ahmed Bahar, president – leaving the two halves of the Palestinian territories answering to different leaders and any hope of a single, independent Palestinian state even further in the distance.
“We in Hamas are against any extension of Mr. Abbas's presidency. It must be ended on January 9,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
The parliamentary speaker who would normally take over if Mr. Abbas became incapacitated, Abdel Aziz Dweik, is a West Bank Hamas member in an Israeli prison.
“I do not think [Mr. Abbas] is eager to stay. But I think he finds himself in a situation where if he steps down, who will replace him?” said political scientist Said Zaydani. “What is at stake is the unity of the Palestinian territories, because in the absence of such an agreement [on elections], the division will be more entrenched.”
The warning from Gaza comes as both sides prepare for more talks in Egypt to try to come up with an accord to reunify the two governments, necessary for any real progress in peace negotiations with the Israelis and for any hope of recovery for Gaza's shattered economy. Hamas leaders will meet Egyptian mediators today, with further talks expected later this month.
Heavy economic sanctions in place since the Hamas takeover have halted private industry and emptied store shelves of most imported goods.
Though humanitarian aid shipments have increased since a ceasefire between Palestinian militant groups and the Israeli military took hold in June, many items including gasoline remain scarce and expensive on the black market.
“What must happen is an agreement to reunite the country; that's our top priority,” Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad told journalists in Brussels. He called for the formation of a non-partisan government of “national consensus” before new elections for both parliament and president.
Special to The Globe and Mail
