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Hamas official appointed as next Palestinian prime minister | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Ismail Haniyeh of the militant Islamic group Hamas received his official appointment as the next Palestinian prime minister, but he refused to respond to a demand from the Palestinian Authority president to adhere to interim peace deals with Israel.

Accepting the letter designating him as prime minister, Haniyeh met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday for more than two hours, their second such session in two days, an indication of the wide gaps between the two.

Abbas is the head of Fatah, the movement Hamas trounced in last month’s parliamentary election. Abbas was elected separately as Palestinian Authority president last year, and now he will have to deal with a Hamas parliament and Cabinet.

The letter, in addition to the official appointment, offered a one-page summary of Abbas’ political positions, said Abbas aides on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give details.

Abbas has said the new government must accept the agreements that previous Palestinian governments made, including interim peace accords with Israel and the internationally backed “road map” peace plan for a Palestinian state.

Haniyeh was noncommittal. “We will study it, and God willing, we will answer soon to Abu Mazen (Abbas), God willing,” he said. Hamas ideology does not accept a Jewish state in the Middle East, and the militant group has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel. Since the election, Hamas has rebuffed demands from the United States, United Nations, European Union and Israel to recognize the Jewish state and renounce violence.

Haniyeh, a relative moderate by Hamas standards who is known as a skilled negotiator, said he wants to bring Fatah into his government.

“I think the room for agreement with Fatah is large,” he said, “and we hope to reach a formula through which we can form a national unity government.” So far Fatah has refused.

Haniyeh also said it was “premature” to discuss incorporating Hamas’ military wing into the Palestinian security services.

Hamas’ rise to power has badly damaged chances of renewing long-stalled peace negotiations. Israel refuses to deal with the group until it abandons violence and recognizes the Jewish state. Further diminishing peace prospects, exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal was in Iran, Israel’s staunchest enemy, seeking to drum up support.

Speaking to Israel TV, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that the chances of a “quick agreement” with the Palestinians are smaller now that Hamas is in charge.

“But the hope has not disappeared, and I am responsible for both things, the battle against Hamas and maintaining hope, the chance to reach an agreement,” Olmert said. It is unclear how Israel could carry out peace talks with Hamas in the Palestinian government. Abbas has suggested that he could personally handle peace negotiations, while letting Hamas focus on its domestic agenda of improving social services and rooting out government corruption.

Israeli officials say they will not deal with a “two-headed government” that includes a party committed to the country’s destruction. After Hamas took over parliament, Israel froze the transfer of roughly US$50 million (¤42 million) in tax funds to the cash-starved Palestinian Authority each month.

Israel also has urged the international community to join it in isolating Hamas. The United States and European Union, which both consider Hamas a terrorist group, have threatened to halt hundreds of millions of dollars of vital foreign aid once the new Palestinian Cabinet takes office.