WEST BANK: Fatah rejects Israel's demands to shun new Palestinian unity government

Record ID: 561943

  • Title: WEST BANK: Fatah rejects Israel's demands to shun new Palestinian unity government
  • Date: 20th February 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SENIOR FATAH LEADER MOHAMMED DAHLAN SAYING: "Israel has threatened and bullied and said what it wanted to say, and we have taken note of this, but will not be re-reading our notes. Usually, we, as negotiators, read our notes, but this time we promise Israel that we will not read what they said and we will not take any notice of it, because what was said today has nothing to do with the language of partnership nor the language of someone who wants to reach an agreement. It is clear that Israel is not interested in reaching an agreement, because their excuse is not convincing, especially as Abu Mazen started the peace process on the basis that the PLO has a legitimate cause. There are no agreements between us and Israel that say that the Palestinian Authority is the party that signs agreement, it is the PLO that is the legal representative of the Palestinian people regarding these agreements."
  • Embargoed: 7th March 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVACD7X6EIEJLB5TPZNJ3GIHDNMQ
  • Story Text: Palestinian senior Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan held a news conference in the West Bank on Sunday (February 19) following a trilateral summit hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem.
    "Israel is absolutely refusing to deal with the government, that is understood and expected. At the same time it does not want for us to participate in this government, and we have refused this, senior Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan said.
    "we will participate in this government and be represented by the Fatah movement, by the (Fatah) members who will be chosen by Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) and our colleagues in the Central Committee", he added.
    The Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended with little sign of progress on reviving long-stalled peace negotiations beyond a vague promise to meet again.
    The meeting, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, focused partly on a unity deal between the Fatah and Hamas groups that has calmed factional fighting but cast a new cloud over peace prospects.
    The Quartet is set to meet in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss the Abbas-Olmert meeting and how to deal with the new coalition forged in Mecca, Saudi Arabia this month.
    A boycott by the United States could prevent a resumption of direct aid from Western donors to the Palestinian Authority that was cut off after Hamas defeated Abbas's Fatah movement in an election a year ago.
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