Abbas: New govt recognizes Israel and rejects violence

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=693016

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the unity government would continue to follow previous PLO policies and that he remains willing to extend peace talks with Israel, which halted the talks in response to a Fatah-Hamas unity deal signed earlier in the week.

During a televised speech kicking off two days of PLO Central Council meetings in Ramallah, Abbas reasserted that he would be willing to extend negotiations with Israel if it pledged to freeze settlement construction and release the last round of prisoners as agreed at the beginning of the talks.

Israel has dismissed the conditions.

"The upcoming government will obey my policy," Abbas told the PLO council. "I recognize Israel and reject violence and terrorism, and recognize international commitments."

The real terrorists are the ones allowing 500K illegal settlers to usurp anything Palestinian.

[sabbat hunter]

1. Why has Hamas failed

to come out and say that it recognizes Israel, rejects violence, terrorism and recognizes international commitments?

I want to see it come out of the mouths of the Hamas leadership.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. Would it make any difference?

I get the impression that even if they said it, there's people who wouldn't believe them anyway...

[sabbat hunter]

3. it would make a difference to me

until I hear the words coming from their leadership, I have to believe that they still want to destroy Israel by any means necessary. and with them in the government (and I assume new elections that they could win) the PA is tainted by this.

the PLO once renounced terror, recognized Israel. They then became a viable partner for peace. But Hamas has not done so.

I think it would make a huge difference to a lot of people, both within Israel and internationally.

[Jefferson23]

4. You may have a long wait. You have a right to your opinion, for me the essence of the reconciliation

is that they will live and move forward keeping to those agreements. Hamas, as has been pointed out awhile ago,
is politically weak..and they know it. Trying to remain relevant is what people in their positions do.

How anyone ever thought Hamas ever had the capacity to destroy Israel is beyond me. There has always
been the possible end to this conflict, two states, each viable. If you think Hamas was unaware that
Israel had no intentions with or without the existence of Hamas of giving up the WB and East Jerusalem,
you are sadly mistaken. The occupation did not begin with the elections of Hamas, it began long
before any suicide bombers.

Their tactics under international law were war crimes, and so are Israel's..best to look to the future
and end the occupation. The next generation on both sides deserve that chance.

Haniyeh advisor: Hamas 'cannot' recognize Israel
Published today (updated) 27/04/2014 19:02

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A media adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday denied reports that Hamas was considering recognizing Israel, pointing out that the movement "cannot" recognize Israel.

On Saturday the Washington Post quoted Tahir al-Nunu as saying that Hamas "did not rule out the possibility of recognizing Israel," but today the official said that he had been misquoted and that the party "could not" individually recognize the country.

Al-Nunu stressed that "it is the interim leadership of the PLO who will determine political stances in the coming stage," and that the unity government would not be playing a foreign policy role.

President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that any unity government would abide by preexisting PLO principles, including a commitment to nonviolence and recognizing Israel.

"The upcoming government will obey my policy," Abbas said in a speech to the PLO Central Council. "I recognize Israel and reject violence and terrorism, and recognize international commitments."

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=693216

[sabbat hunter]

5. Hamas

could easily win elections if they were held. Hamas is not as politically weak you think they are. They still have a strong following, especially in Gaza.

Why cannot Hamas recognize Israel?

[Jefferson23]

6. No actually they don't, and they are weak because they bet wrong. The were relying on the

MB too heavily, and they are gone. I think they would respond that they don't need to, for the same
reason Bibi ran after Abbas when he went to the UN, and had the US veto their status.

It is a position Israel has held onto forever..you Palestine don't exist as a state until we say so.

Voting by an overwhelming majority — 138 in favour to 9 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Panama, Palau, United States), with 41 abstentions — the General Assembly today accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations.

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/ga11317.doc.htm

When you have this level of inequity, I would not expect them to yield more than they are doing now...which
is significant and I hope the reconciliation works out...they must abide by all agreements.

[azurnoir]

7. according to the Palestinian public opinion poll Hamas would lose March 2014

In presidential elections, Abbas receives 53% and Haniyeh 41%.

http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2014/p51e.pdf

all the info on elections is on page3 of the PDF

Hamas would lose both the PM elections and the parliamentary elections

The only times Hamas gains in the polls is after Israeli military operations OCL and Pillar of Cloud and those gains are short lived