Hamas and Abbas Clash Over Path for Palestinians - New York Times:
Abbas is saying all the right words, but will he live long enough for Hamas to be willing to listen? They are certainly not listening now.
How Hamas will fund itself when the U.S., the E.U. and Israel stop providing money will be interesting to watch. And will Hamas permit and enable other terrorist groups like Al Qaida to set up shop in Palestine?
"Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman and legislator, said negotiations with Israel 'are not on our agenda.' Like many Hamas leaders, Mr. Haniya and Mr. Masri consider the Oslo accords a dead letter and often cite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel as having said the same thing.
Still, on Saturday, Mr. Haniya, like Mr. Abbas, promised to deal with their differences 'through dialogue and understanding, to preserve the national unity of the Palestinian people and promote their higher interests.'
In warning the legislators not to reinvent the wheel of Israeli-Palestinian relations, Mr. Abbas seemed intent on showing a strong hand: in effect, reminding the group that even though it had won 74 of 132 parliamentary seats, he remains in the top Palestinian post and still has a range of powers, including his role as commander in chief of Palestinian security forces.
That message was underscored later Saturday by a statement from his spokesman, Saeb Erekat, who said that if Hamas did not cooperate, Mr. Abbas would consider replacing the group's chosen prime minister or, in the event of complete stalemate, even calling new elections."
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