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Palestinian rivals agree to share power

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 9, 2007

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Rival Palestinian factions signed a power-sharing accord Thursday aimed at ending months of bloodshed, agreeing that the Islamic militant group Hamas would head a new coalition government that would "respect" past peace agreements with Israel.

However, Israel and the United States have demanded that the new government explicitly renounce violence, recognize Israel and agree to uphold past peace accords. The vague promise to respect past deals - a compromise reached after Hamas rejected pressure for more binding language - did not appear to go far enough.

U.S. and Israeli acceptance is crucial to the deal's success. Unless they are convinced that Hamas has sufficiently moderated, the West is unlikely to lift a crippling financial blockade of the Palestinian government, and it will be difficult to advance the peace process.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said, "We'll see what any final agreement actually looks like, and we'll have to make an evaluation from there" as to whether it meets international demands.

Shortly after Hamas won elections in January 2006, a quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia - said future aid to a new Palestinian government led by the militant group "would be reviewed by donors against that government's commitment to renounce violence" and recognize Israel and other agreements.

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin would not say whether Israel thinks the guidelines of the new government fulfill those demands.

"Israel expects a new Palestinian government to respect and accept all three of the international community principles," Eisin said.

At stake is about $1-billion a year in frozen aid from foreign donors and about $500-million in withheld tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinians.

Palestinians also hope the agreement will avert an outright civil war. Clashes between Hamas and Fatah gunmen have killed 130 Palestinians since May, and cease-fires have repeatedly broken down. The latest fragile truce came Sunday, after four days of fighting killed 30 people.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal headed two days of intense negotiations in a Mecca palace overlooking the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine - a venue Saudi Arabia chose to step up the pressure on the two sides to compromise.

Much of the negotiations centered on a single word. Abbas pressed Hamas to accept the stronger stance of "committing to" past peace accords with Israel signed by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Liberation Organization. But in the end, he was forced to settle for the promise to "respect" them.

The final agreement was announced at a ceremony aired live on Arab television Thursday night, in which Saudi King Abdullah sat with Abbas on his right and Hamas leader Mashaal on his left.

[Last modified February 9, 2007, 01:06:48]