Hamas ready to continue truce, rejects preconditions
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 2/2/2006

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, which is preparing to form a new government, announced after winning the legislative elections, preparations to discuss the issue of the truce with Israel.

Member of the movement's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk said that the "truce is not a sort of a new proposal. It has been debated since 10 years," noting that Hamas has been exposed to increasing pressure from the international community in order to change its attitude to resistance by weapons to confining to political work, committing to this truce since March 2005.

In reactions to preconditions set by the chairman of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas, that coincided with the American and European and certain Arab states demands for Hamas to drop its weapons and "give up violence" and recognizing Israel as a precondition to recognize the government which will be formed by Hamas, Abu Marzouk said "it is not logical that any Arab, international or Palestinian peace loving official, and the democratic option, to set all these conditions in advance," stressing that "this means demanding the movement to announce its defeat and give up its principles."

For his part, a senior Palestinian official denied that Abbas had set a condition during talks he had made with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday on that Hamas has to recognize Israel first, before he assigns it to form a new government.

But the official who is close to the Palestinian president stressed that the latter will persist on the commitment of the new government to implement earlier agreements signed with Israel.

Abbas renewed his assertion upon his arrival at Amman airport, Jordan, coming from Cairo on Wednesday after a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak, the need of harmony of any Palestinian government, and to be in support of obligations of agreements with Israel from Oslo up to the Roadmap agreements.

The Jordanian official news agency Petra quoted Abbas as saying that "in order to have full harmony in the Palestinian authority, these matters should be taken into account in order to be able to maintain political work until we create the Palestinian state."

A New York Times report noted that the Palestinian president may be using the tactic of delay in calling Hamas to form a government as a pressure point on Hamas to make compromises.

Meanwhile, Egypt said that yesterday's meeting between President Mubarak and President Abbas was held in which Mubarak encouraged Abbas to remain in office since he was considering resigning.

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