Israel threatens 'arsenal of measures' in wake of Fatah Hamas pact

[Scurrilous]

Israel has threatened to use an "arsenal of measures" against the Palestinian territories, including withholding £480 million of taxes and subjecting leaders to humiliating border checks in retaliation for the Fatah Hamas pact.

<snip>

"Mahmoud Abbas, the pro-western president of the Palestinian Authority, was accused of siding with terrorists after his secular Fatah party agreed on Wednesday to end a long-running schism with its arch-rival Hamas, the Islamist overlords of the Gaza Strip.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, said the deal made it "inevitable" that Hamas would take over the West Bank leaving the Jewish state to confront an enemy bent on its destruction on two fronts.

Under the terms of the unexpected deal, reached after weeks of secret talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Hamas and Fatah, which fought a brief civil war in 2007, will form a provisional government that will oversee the preparation of presidential and parliamentary elections within a year.

While the deal has been hailed in the Arab world and among ordinary Palestinians, Israel has said it will have nothing to do with a government that comprises a significant terrorist element.

Mr Lieberman gave warning that Israel would show its displeasure by directly punishing Mr Abbas and his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who enjoys strong western support."

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[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AnOhioan]

2. Yeah, Avigdor just hates it when the Palestinians make...

decisions on their own. Don't they know they owe their very existence to a benevolent Israel??

[aranthus]

4. So Israel is supposed to like Hamas?

Despite the fact that Hamas has repeatedly said and shown that it wants no part of any peace with Israel?

[azurnoir]

6. Is the PLO supposed to like National Union or Likud?

you do not have to like the opposition and Hamas is not the Palestinian government in total, it will be a part of it though

[azurnoir]

3. It seems a bit of damned if they do damned if they don't

from the article=

Until now, Israel has frequently argued that Mr Abbas did not have a mandate to reach a peace deal with Israel or to seek international recognition for Palestinian statehood because he did not represent the people of Gaza.

but all in all it could look like 'any port in a storm' especially when this is taken in to account

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signaled on Thursday that peace talks with Israel would still be possible during the term of a new interim government formed as part of a unity deal with Hamas.

Abbas said the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which he heads and to which Hamas does not belong, would still be responsible for "handling politics, negotiations".

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-fatah-will-continue-to-handle-mideast-peace-talks-1.358620

[bemildred]

5. Divide and rule is the plan, and it always was the plan.

So of course they don't like it. I must say I am somewhat surprised that Fatah and Hamas resolved their differences all the same.

[King_David]

7. Yes very surprising

But it`s still early days.

[azurnoir]

9. I guess the intelligence connections between Egypt and Israel

aren't what they used to be, seeing that Israel seems caught off guard by this, also the 'preconditions' imposed on the Palestinians in the Mubarak era seem to have disappeared

[bemildred]

10. That's an "interesting" question, whether this is related to events in Egypt.

It is sort of Fatah here that is changing its position, and the question is why? Or "why now?" perhaps. But the changes in Egypt may be precipitating agents rather than the real reason, Fatah has been in an illegimate position for some years now, and that has consequences that no number of thriving coffee shops in Ramallah will prevent.

[shira]

8. The Fatah/Hamas union won't last long past the September UN vote. n/t

[bemildred]

11. So you expected this? nt