Hamas

[Janus]

Originally posted by BBC News
The Palestinian prime minister has told the first meeting of his Hamas-led cabinet that the government is facing a deep financial crisis.
Ismail Haniya says his administration inherited a finance ministry that had no money left, yet had mounting debts.

He said the new leadership would do its best to pay the wages of more than 100,0000 Palestinian Authority workers.

Aid donors have threatened to cut funds to the PA if Hamas does not change its doctrine of non-recognition of Israel.

"We are making every effort to pay the government employees despite the financial crisis," Mr Haniya said.

"We inherited a situation in which we not only have no money in the treasury but a whole load of debts."
The meeting came as Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahhar denied suggesting that Hamas was countenancing a two-state solution in a letter to the United Nations.

The AFP news agency published what it said were extracts from the letter.

"We look forward to live in peace and security and for our people to live a dignified life in freedom and independence, side by side with our neighbours in this sacred part of the world," the text says.

It goes on to say Israel's "illegal colonial policies... diminish any hopes for the achievement of settlement and people based on a two-state solution".

The two-state formula, enshrined in the international peace plan known as the roadmap, would see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living in peace beside Israel.

Hamas, which denies Israel's legitimacy and refuses to follow a path of non-violence and adopt past peace deals, has always rejected this formula.

Israeli moves

In a separate development, Israel's president is preparing to formally ask interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to form a government, after his Kadima party came top in elections last week.

A presidential statement said the announcement would be made at a news conference on Thursday, following a meeting between Mr Olmert and President Moshe Katsav.

On Wednesday, the central election committee released the final figures, confirming that Kadima won 29 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Mr Olmert will have six weeks to form a government - for which he will need several coalition partners.

On Tuesday he said the left-centre Labour Party, which supports his plan to withdraw from parts of the occupied West Bank, would be his most senior partner in government.

Many aid donors have threatened to cut off aid if Hamas doesn't recognize Israel or change its policy calling for the destruction of the Israeli state. Do you think that this will impact Hamas's policies? Or you could discuss on the future of the Palestinian state or government in general.

[amanondeathrow]

Do you think that this will impact Hamas's policies?

The Palestinian government will not be able to function properly with out international aid.

Hamas may have fierce rhetoric, but now that they have entered electoral politics they will have to make some concessions and most certainly will.

In fact Haniya has already began to offer support for negotiations, albeit slowly.

[BuyOurEverything]

Absolutely. Hamas has already started softening their policy towards Israel. I believe they will soon start talking of a two state solution, however, it remains to be seen if this will entice other countries to recognize Hamas and resume their funding. It probably won't for the US and Canada, but may for some European countries.

[Cheung Mo]

Maybe Svend Robinson can give them some jewelery. :lol:

[Intifada]

Hamas is changing its policy towards Israel, since the elections particularly.

Indeed, they have contacted Kofi Annan through a letter, stating that they want to live in "freedom and independence side by side with our neighbours".

The surprise win for Hamas has forced them into a position where they have to represent the interests of the Palestinian people who elected them. As such, Hamas cannot afford to alienate themselves from the international community, but must continue to fight for Palestinian rights at the same time.

[Janus]

I think that there's bound to be some type of showdown between Hamas and Abbas.


Originally posted by AP
The new Palestinian prime minister said Thursday that his Cabinet will take control of the Palestinian security forces, putting his Hamas-led government on a collision course with President Mahmoud Abbas.

Deepening the tension, Abbas installed a longtime ally as head of the three security branches in a battle for control of the 58,000-member police force, and he told Hamas it had to clear all foreign policy moves with him.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told The Associated Press that he rejects any attempts to take power away from Hamas, which won Jan. 25 parliamentary elections. His Cabinet was sworn in last week.

"There are attempts to create parallel frameworks to some ministries in the Palestinian government," Haniyeh said in an interview at his Gaza City headquarters. "But I don't think (Abbas) can keep up this pressure and take away power from this government."

Abbas' actions appeared aimed at persuading the international community that he, not Hamas, is in charge. Western donors have threatened to cut off desperately needed aid if Hamas does not renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist, conditions the Islamic militant group has rejected.

Abbas, a moderate who was elected president last year, retains wide powers. He is the head of the National Security Council, which has final say over the Palestinian security forces, and he can issue wide-ranging decrees that do not need parliamentary approval.

Haniyeh said Abbas had assured him the security forces would remain under the control of the Hamas-led Cabinet, which, he said, did not take power "on the back of a tank" but in "transparent and fair elections."

But hours later, Abbas appointed a longtime ally, Rashid Abu Shbak, to head the three security services that fall under Interior Minister Said Siyam, in addition to agencies already under the president's authority. Though Siyam would technically be Abu Shbak's boss, any dispute between the two would be resolved in the Abbas-headed National Security Council.

Abu Shbak said he was authorized to hire and fire officers in the three security branches.

"Any recruitment of directors or deputy directors for any of the three services will be made through me," he said. His appointment reduced Hamas' authority over the security apparatus to cutting checks for its officers.

Security officers on the streets of Gaza and the West Bank, many of whom came from the ranks of Abbas' Fatah Party, were divided on whom they would side with in a fight for their loyalty.

Ahmed Abu Sayah, a member of the preventive security service, which was responsible for a 1996 crackdown on Hamas, said he would not accept a Hamas leader. "We hate them and they hate us," he said in Gaza City.

Mohammed Barham, a police officer in Nablus, said that though he was in Fatah, he would take orders from whoever is in charge. "By law the interior minister is the boss and that is acceptable to me," he said.

Also Thursday, the Palestine Liberation Organization, which Abbas heads, ordered the Hamas-led Foreign Ministry to coordinate with it before making major pronouncements on diplomatic policy. The PLO is technically in charge of the Palestinians' foreign affairs.

Abbas is likely to continue amassing power to end Western sanctions, said Khalil Shahin, a political analyst with the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam.

"I predict that he will keep stripping Hamas of more of its authorities," he said. "(Abbas) is trying with these measures to spare the Palestinian people more suffering and more sanctions."

Abbas has said he wants to resume peace talks with Israel, which has shunned the Hamas government, and Haniyeh said he would not stand in the way of those talks.

"(Abbas,) as the head of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, can move on political fronts and negotiate with whomever he wants. What is important is what will be offered to the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said.

Also Thursday, Israeli President Moshe Katsav tapped acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to form Israel's next government. Olmert said he would quickly put together a coalition committed to carrying out his plan to pull out of most of the West Bank, solidify Israel's hold over major settlement blocs and draw Israel's final border with the Palestinians by 2010.

Olmert has said that he preferred to carry out his plan through negotiations, but if talks do not quickly bear fruit, he will withdraw unilaterally.

Haniyeh denounced Olmert's threat to draw Israel's borders on his own, saying it will leave Israel in control of Jerusalem and other territories the Palestinians claim as part of their future state.

"This will not make the Palestinian people happy," Haniyeh said.

Dressed in a suit, Haniyeh chatted amiably in Arabic and joked during the interview, which lasted more than half an hour.

When asked if he was a pragmatic man and would recognize Israel, he switched to English: "That is a big question."

He then said there was no change in Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect all past accords signed by the Palestinian Authority — the three conditions Israel and the West have imposed for dealing with Hamas, which is listed as a terror group by the U.S. and European Union.

At the same time, he struck a conciliatory tone when speaking about the United States, saying, "we don't want feelings of animosity to remain in the region, not toward the U.S. administration and not toward the West."

He also denied reports that al-Qaida militants had infiltrated Palestinian territories.

[Jormungand]

I recall hearing Iran said they would cover the PA's expenses that would no longer be provided by aid from Western nations, so, I don't really think the West's cold shoulder game will really work.

[Janus]

Indeed, they have contacted Kofi Annan through a letter, stating that they want to live in "freedom and independence side by side with our neighbours".
It seems so.


Originally posted by AP
Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya said his Hamas-led government would study any Israeli offer for negotiations following an unprecedented peace overture to the United Nations.
His foreign minister Mahmud al-Zahar's letter to UN chief Kofi Annan, which spoke of a desire to live at peace alongside the Palestinians' neighbours, came a week after an Israeli election whose winner Ehud Olmert has threatened to unilaterally fix the region's borders during his term in office.

Hamas, which itself only took the reins of power last week, is already facing a financial crisis as a result of Israel's refusal to hand over customs duties to a Palestinian Authority led by the Islamists.

With the West also threatening to cut funding unless Hamas radically overhauls its platform, the financial plight of the new administration has further underlined the need to improve its diplomatic standing.

Although Hamas is still committed in its charter to the Jewish state's destruction and refuses to renounce violence, Haniya said he had no objection to contacts on practical issues and would not rule out political negotiations.

"Nothing stops ministers from having contacts with the Israelis to deal with matters connected to daily life, business and the economy," Haniya said.

"When it comes to political negotiations, that poses a problem because they subscribe to a political vision. We are waiting on what is proposed to us, we will study it and decide on our position."

Israel's acting premier Olmert, set to head a new coalition, has refused to have contact with Hamas. While he says he would prefer to fix the Jewish state's final borders in a peace agreement, he is also prepared to go it alone.

As part of a series of measures designed to put the squeeze on Hamas, Israel has frozen its payment of customs duties, worth around 50 million dollars a month, which it collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Haniya acknowledged that the authority's coffers were now empty and that it would struggle to pay government employees.

"We are making every effort to pay the government employees despite the financial crisis," Haniya said. "We inherited a situation in which we not only have no money in the treasury but a whole load of debts."

The strain on an already donor-dependent government is likely to grow if the European Union and United States act on threats to slash their contributions, unless it recognises Israel and commits itself to non-violence.

In a bid to curb corruption in the Palestinian Authority, the Hamas cabinet announced it was freezing all political appointments made by the previous Fatah government.

The newly elected cabinet also requested its ministers to make public all their revenues.

In his letter to Annan, copies of which were obtained by AFP, Zahar said the new Islamist government was looking for peace and independence side-by-side with its neighbours while not specifically mentioning Israel.

"We look forward to live in peace and security and for our people to live a dignified life in freedom and independence, side-by-side with our neighbours in this sacred part of the world," the text said.

The language was similar to an internationally backed roadmap peace plan which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, which has been rejected by Hamas.

Its most eye-catching reference was to hopes for the realisation of a two-state solution, albeit mixed with blame for Jewish settlement activities and accusing Israel of seeking to annex the occupied Jordan Valley.

"This will ultimately diminish any hopes for the achievement of settlement and peace based on a two-state solution," it said.

Zahar later told the BBC that reference to the two-state solution had been included as a result of a bureaucratic error by a colleague who sent the letter.

"I asked him please cancel this but they didn't. That's the mistake," he said.

Initial reaction from the Israeli government was cool.

"In this letter, the Palestinian foreign minister talks about cooperation and peace in the region, but unfortunately he talks of the region without Israel," foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AFP. "In no part of this letter does he mention the existence of Israel."

In another development Hamas sources said the Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs, Khaled Abu Arafeh, was arrested on Thursday by Israeli security on the outskirts of the holy city.

Abu Arafeh, a member of the militant Islamist movement, was detained at a checkpoint at the entrance to al-Azaria, a suburb of east Jerusalem which is technically part of the occupied West Bank.

The sources said Abu Arafeh, one of the 24 ministers in the Hamas-led cabinet which was sworn in last week, had been travelling to al-Azaria to inaugurate new political offices.

A Jerusalem police source said Israel's domestic Shin Beth security agency was handling the case and referred all questions to the prime minister's office, which was not immediately available for comment.

Israel bans all political activity in east Jerusalem, which the Jewish state occupied in the 1967 Middle East War and subsequently annexed.

[Severian]

Originally posted by [email protected] 6 2006, 04:33 PM
I recall hearing Iran said they would cover the PA's expenses that would no longer be provided by aid from Western nations, so, I don't really think the West's cold shoulder game will really work.
1. Iran is not in a position to offer as much aid as the U.S., the EU, plus tax revenue formerly collected by Israel for the PA.

2. Aid for the PA has to pass through Israeli banks, so Israel is in a position to block money from Iran or Arab countries reaching the PA. Some money could be smuggled in...but that's limited.

***

Hamas' policies in office are increasingly resembling Fatah's, also. E.g. putting out feelers towards accepting a "two-state solution" in order to become acceptable to the "international community", i.e. the imperialists.

Which gives the measure of the hypocrisy and irresponsibility of their opposition to Fatah and the PA all these years - undermining it without being prepared to offer any different course of action if they were leading the Palestinian people.

At one point between the two Russian Revolutions of 1917, some Narodnik proclaimed that there was no party willing to take sole power into its own hands, and responsibility for the course of events. Lenin answered "There is!", to much laughter. But he was right, that no serious party can decline power and responsiblity when it has the opportunity and popular support to take it.

Of course the PA does not represent real power - it is a Bantustan administration. Hamas could have legitimately continued not to run for it - but they could not responsibly continue to offer no serious alternative.

Hamas was as surprised as anyone by its election victory, which has put a stop to its irresponsible opposition. Whatever happens now, it is going to lose a lot of credibility among Palestinians.

[Janus]

A political rift is growing between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah.


Originally posted by BBC News
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has criticised a decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to assume control of Gaza's border crossings.
He called the move an attempt to undermine the Hamas-led government's control over security matters.

The government would not accept the creation of parallel structures that would diminish its authority, he added.

Mr Abbas, whose Fatah party is a political rival of Hamas, also named an ally as head of internal security.

In his new role, Rashid Abu Shbak, who is currently head of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Preventative Security Service, will have authority over the police and emergency services.

Correspondents say that although Mr Shbak will nominally report to Hamas Interior Minister Said al-Siyam, ultimate authority rests with the president.

Power struggle

Mr Abbas issued a presidential decree on Wednesday, taking over control of the Palestinian border points and crossings.

But on Thursday, Mr Haniya said he rejected any attempts to take power away from Hamas.

He told the Associated Press news agency Mr Abbas had assured him the security forces would remain under the control of the Hamas-led cabinet, which he said had not taken power "on the back of a tank", but in "transparent and fair elections".

Despite the victory of the militant group in January's parliamentary election, Mr Abbas retains wide-ranging powers.

He is head of the National Security Council, which has final say over the Palestinian security forces.

Hamas took formal control of the government last week, after being sworn in by Mr Abbas.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says the new Palestinian government has a severe lack of experience. None of its ministers have been in government before and they have taken over ministries packed with officials loyal to the Fatah party.

Mr Abbas and Mr Haniya are due to meet in Gaza on Friday evening.

[Janus]

The EU has temporarily suspended aid to Palestine


Originally posted by BBC News+--> (BBC News)European Union foreign ministers are due to meet next week to discuss what to do about future aid.

The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority, which is reliant on foreign aid.

The EU has been threatening to cut off direct payments unless Hamas renounces violence and recognises Israel.
A spokesman for the Hamas government said the decision to suspend aid was a form of "blackmail" that would harm the Palestinian people.

A European Commission spokeswoman, Emma Udwin, told reporters in Brussels that Hamas had not yet met the international community's conditions, which include a call for Hamas to accept past peace agreements with Israel.

She said the Commission was adopting "a policy of maximum prudence" so as not to pre-judge the European ministers' discussions in Luxembourg on Monday.

However, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the Commission's decision represents a clear warning to Hamas of the consequences of its failure to abide by international demands.

Cash-strapped government

Hamas, which took office last week under Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, has already said it would turn to the Islamic world to make up any shortfall in funding from the West.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has received about $600m (500m euros; £340m) a year in aid from the EU since its foundation in 1994, with another $400m coming from the US.

Ms Udwin said some $36.9m (30m euros; £21m) in aid from the European Commission was at stake in the immediate future.

The freeze covers all direct aid to the government and payment of public employees' salaries with EU funds through the World Bank.

It does not affect humanitarian aid sent to non-governmental organisations or to United Nations relief agencies.

Money from individual member states is not affected either.

The PA is facing a financial crisis. Mr Haniya said earlier this week that his government had inherited a finance ministry that had no money left, yet had mounting debts.

The European Commission released $143m (118m euros; £83m) in direct and indirect aid in February, before Hamas took office.

It has also redirected some aid to pay Palestinian electricity bills directly to suppliers, including the Israeli electricity company, without going through the government.[/b]

The US has cut off some aid as well.


AP
The United States will cancel or suspend more than $240 million in projects aimed at assisting Palestinians out of concern that the money could go to help the new leadership of the militant Islamist movement Hamas, a senior State Department official said Friday.
At the same time, the United States will redirect some of that money to humanitarian projects for the impoverished Palestinian people. Humanitarian assistance will rise by 57 percent to $287 million over several years, the official said.

Another $13 million will go for new vetting procedures, including a special inspector general, to ensure that even humanitarian aid funneled through the United Nations Relief Agency and approved charities does not end up in Hamas hands, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because no public announcement has yet been made by the State Department. That was expected later Friday.

The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization and each country bans official dealings with it. Hamas won parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories in January and it formed a government that took power this month. The United States began a review of its aid package to the Palestinians shortly after the election, and has already eliminated direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.

The United States has long channeled most of its assistance to the Palestinians through indirect means, to humanitarian efforts such as food, maternal and child health programs and education and also for projects that only indirectly benefited the Palestinian government. These include such projects as roads, water works and training programs for judges, electoral workers and others.

The United States will redirect about $100 million from canceled projects to humanitarian assistance, the official said. Some of the remaining pot of approximately $140 million will be eaten up in the process of ending or disengaging from those projects, but it is not clear where all the money will go.

The official said the State Department will consult with Congress on the next move. Congress has already approved all the spending under review, and has not yet considered how to apportion new money now that Hamas is in place.

The West has been threatening to cut nearly $1 billion in annual aid to the Palestinians since the election, which turned out the moderate Fatah Party that Washington had hoped could gradually move toward peace with Israel. Hamas has refused to renounce violence or recognize Israel's right to exist.

Without money from the Arab world, Europe and the United States, a Hamas-led government would be nearly broke.

President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have said Washington would not give aid to a Hamas-led government unless it changed what they call extremist policies.

Also Friday, the European Union's executive office cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

The decision — condemned by Hamas officials but welcomed by the Israeli government as a sign of a growing international consensus — effectively stops the next installment of some $36.9 million in projects aimed at funding hospitals, utilities and education run by the United Nations, Red Cross and other groups.

As with the United States, the vast majority of the EU's aid package does not go to the Palestinian Authority government. However, the decision has symbolic value and will add to the pressure on the Hamas leadership.

The funds are considered vital to keep the Palestinian economy afloat — and the impact could be even stronger if EU foreign ministers decide at a meeting Monday to also freeze their governments' bilateral aid to the Palestinians. Britain and the Netherlands have already taken such a step.

EU aid to the Palestinians totals more than $600 million per year and the bloc is the Palestinians' largest donor. The frozen EU funds amount to half of that annual figure, with the rest coming from the bilateral agreements to be scrutinized at Monday's EU meeting.

Hamas condemned the move, which came at a time of intense maneuvering among Palestinian leaders to find a way out of the new government's isolation. One senior Hamas leader said Friday the group is ready for a "two-state" solution with Israel, a softening in Hamas' position that would imply recognition of the Jewish state for the first time.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said the EU move to freeze funds "will increase the suffering" of Palestinians.

[Janus]

In the midst of all of this international pressure, there seem to be some hints that Hamas will recognize Israel even though the Hamas PM doesn't seem to be aware of it.


Originally posted by AP
A senior Hamas official said Friday the group is ready to accept a "two-state" solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the Hamas prime minister said he is unaware of plans by the Islamic militants to change their hard-line government platform.

The senior Hamas official said the two-state idea was to be raised by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in a meeting Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate who advocates negotiations with Israel.

The meeting was preceded by a series of contradictory statements from Hamas officials about whether a new government would recognize Israel in some fashion.

A "two-state" solution would appear to be a softening of Hamas' position and imply recognition of the Jewish state.

Haniyeh later told reporters that he would discuss a wide range of issues with Abbas, but that "there is nothing new about political positions" outlined in the Hamas government platform.

"Haniyeh is to tell Abu Mazen (Abbas) tonight that Hamas is able to adopt the two-state solution as a platform of the Cabinet. But we know Israel doesn't accept us. We want to give room for movement and to lift international pressure on the Cabinet," the senior official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not yet been submitted to Abbas.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev dismissed the proposal as "verbal gymnastics."

When asked about the two-state idea, Ghazi Hamad, the spokesman of the Hamas government, said he believed Haniyeh and Abbas could reach common ground. "This will come soon," Hamad said.

In a published interview Friday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar also confirmed Hamas' willingness to discuss a solution that would implicitly recognize Israel.

He said his government is prepared to discuss the idea with the Quartet of international Mideast negotiators — the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

"Let us speak about what is the meaning of the two-state solution," he told The Times of London. "We will ask them what is their concept concerning the two-state solution."

Only a day earlier, Haniyeh had told The Associated Press that Hamas would not recognize Israel.

The contradictory statements came as Hamas is under intense international pressure to moderate its views, including recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting existing peace agreements. In Brussels, Belgium, the EU announced Friday it would cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led government.

The idea of accepting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an apparent attempt by Hamas to appease the international community, without having to state directly that it is recognizing Israel.

Haniyeh and others in Hamas criticized the decision as collective punishment of the Palestinians.

Israel also has suspended the monthly transfer of about $55 million in customs duties it collects for the Palestinians. Haniyeh said this week that his government is broke.

Hamas officials have said they would only grant such recognition in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from all lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War — the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

In exchange for backing a two-state solution, Hamas wants Abbas to grant the group its "constitutional rights," the senior Hamas official said. Abbas has taken steps recently to curb Hamas' power in security matters. On Thursday, Abbas named a longtime ally to supervise the security forces that are supposed to be under the authority of the Hamas Cabinet.

Regev, the Israeli official, said: "I see no indication that Hamas is moving to accept the international community's benchmarks. They have no one but themselves to blame for this situation."

Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and been labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. and Europe.

In new violence, Israeli troops killed a 22-year-old Palestinian in an overnight arrest raid in the West Bank city of Nablus. The army said troops shot the man after coming under fire, but the man's family said he was unarmed and had no ties to any militant group.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli military aircraft dropped leaflets urging civilians to stay away from rocket-launching sites "for your own safety."

The warning, signaling further military activity is imminent, was issued shortly after Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes in Gaza in response to three rocket attacks from Gaza.

Israel has stepped up its attacks against suspected rocket-launching sites recently, with naval ships striking open fields Friday. No casualties were reported.

On Thursday, Haniyeh said he rejected any attempts to take power away from Hamas, which won Jan. 25 parliamentary elections. His Cabinet was sworn in last week.

"There are attempts to create parallel frameworks to some ministries in the Palestinian government," Haniyeh said in the interview with AP. "But I don't think (Abbas) can keep up this pressure and take away power from this government."

Haniyeh said Abbas had assured him the security forces would remain under the control of the Hamas-led Cabinet.

But hours later, Abbas appointed a longtime ally, Rashid Abu Shbak, to head the three security services that fall under new Interior Minister Said Siyam, in addition to agencies already under the president's aegis. Though Siyam would technically be Abu Shbak's boss, any dispute between the two would be resolved in the Abbas-headed National Security Council.

Abu Shbak said he was authorized to hire and fire officers in the three security branches. "Any recruitment of directors of deputy directors for any of the three services will be made through me," he said. His appointment reduced Hamas' authority over the security apparatus to cutting checks for its 58,000 officers.

Abbas has said he wants to resume peace talks with Israel, which has shunned the Hamas government, and Haniyeh said he would not stand in the way of those talks.

Abbas, "as the head of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, can move on political fronts and negotiate with whomever he wants. What is important is what will be offered to the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said.

When asked if he was a pragmatic man and would recognize Israel, he switched to English: "That is a big question."

He then said there was no change in Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect all past accords signed by the Palestinian Authority — the three conditions Israel and the West have imposed for dealing with Hamas.