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Hamas: Abbas Does Not Represent the Palestinians in Negotiations

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Jonathan D. Halevi - American policy regarding the peace process is based on the premise that it is possible to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians represented by the PLO-Palestinian Authority (PA) under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). However, the PA does not represent all of the components of the Palestinian people, nor does it have a mandate to make decisions on the core political issues in the name of the Palestinian people. The Hamas movement, which in the last elections (2006) won an overwhelming majority in the Palestinian Parliament, uncompromisingly opposes any negotiations with Israel, does not accept the PA as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and has reiterated its firm stance that any agreement reached with Israel will be worthless and will not represent the position of the Palestinian people. The American initiative ignores the fundamental situation in the Palestinian arena, and the basic fact that the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah headed by Mahmoud Abbas does not enjoy the status that would allow it to make historic decisions in the name of the Palestinian people, and certainly not decisions that are not in line with the Palestinian consensus, which supports "the return of Jerusalem to Arab and Islamic rule" and the "right of return." Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, a former advisor to the Policy Planning Division of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center.
2013-12-31 00:00:00
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