Palestinian Unity Government

[enigma2517]

There has been a lot of talk back and forth between the two parties of Hamas and Fatah about a unity government. At one point it almost looked like it was going to happen, but then PM Haniya denounced the claims and everything was back to square one again.

In such a time of desperation for Palestine, what are the huge dividing issues that make cooperation between the two so hard? Besides that fact that one is rightist Islamic and the one is leftist secular :)

[Guest1]

Fatah is not leftist. Fatah has long abandoned all the ideas it stood for. The PLO was an umbrella group that included leftist groups, such as the PFLP, but Fatah itself has always been the right wing of the PLO. After years in power, they calcified and became a corrupt bureaucratic party that was ready to sell all of its people's interests.

Now, they are trying to make sure that all of the betrayals they signed are respected by Hamas. Hamas are Islamist nutcases obviously, and are resisting this for the wrong reasons, but nonetheless they are refusing to recognize the deals Fatah made in return for their fat paychecks. This is why the coalition idea keeps failing, the elements in Hamas willing to work under those conditions are very isolated, their rank-and-file doesn't want anything to do with Fatah's corrupt deals with the Israeli government.

[Janus]

It seems that talks have failed again though they are going to continue. Despite this, many members of both governments see a joint government as essential to lifting the crippling Western boycott.

Abbas, Hamas don't agree on joint government (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians)

[Severian]

To a degree, I think the conflicts are less over any policy disagreement than over patronage; control of ministries and budgets, ability to give your supporters jobs.....

Certainly their factional conflicts have hurt the Palestinian population and the goals of the Palestinian national struggle.

[Keyser]

Now, they are trying to make sure that all of the betrayals they signed are respected by Hamas. Hamas are Islamist nutcases obviously, and are resisting this for the wrong reasons, but nonetheless they are refusing to recognize the deals Fatah made in return for their fat paychecks. This is why the coalition idea keeps failing, the elements in Hamas willing to work under those conditions are very isolated, their rank-and-file doesn't want anything to do with Fatah's corrupt deals with the Israeli government.

One thing I do not get is that Hamas won a substantial amount of the vote in the elections, they could have formed a Hamas led government without Fatah participation. Yet upon their election victory, Hamas was insistant that they rule in coalition with Fatah, why?

Of course I view both Hamas and Fatah as both being a dead end for the oppressed and poor of Palestine.

These last few years must be the worst in history for the Palestinian people. Israel maintains a blockade and siege, thus cutting off all trade, investment, aid and development projects for the Palestinians, most of whom rely on this to put a modest amount of food on the table for themsleves and their families. Israel bombs and attacks Palestinians daily and the world and other nations could not give a shit, especially the other Arab regimes, who are wholly in bed with the imperialist system and are as corrupt as can be. To top all of this, the Palestinian ruling class in the PLO have used the Palestinian Authority as nothing more as their own private business venture to enrich themselves with.

Palestine is a shining example of the failure of national 'liberation' movements and the ideology behind it, be it secular-nationalist (PLO) or islamist (Hamas).

[Jhé]

Shbeir, the new Palestinian Unity Government head

Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Monday, 13 November 2006

http://www.imemc.org


Palestinian sources reported on Monday at night that the rival Fateh and Hamas movements agreed on the formation of a National Unity Government headed by Mohammad Abu Shbeir. Abu Shbeir agreed and said that he will issue an official statement regarding the issue in the coming hours.

Marzouq Abu Marzouq, vice-president of the Hamas political bureau said that Fateh and Hamas movements agreed on Shbeir as the head of the Palestinian government that is expected to be announced before the end of this month.

Talking to the Associated Press, Abu Marzouq said that the government will be officially announced after receiving international guarantees of ending the embargo.

Meanwhile, Abu Shbeir said that he is not a member of any political faction, and that his name was among a list of names presented by Hamas to the Palestinian President as possible candidates for heading the Palestinian Government.

Abu Shbeir confirmed that, so far, he did not receive any official appointment from Abbas, but expressed readiness to fulfil his duties directly after is is asked to.

Shbeir, 60, is the former president of the Islamic University in Gaza Strip, he is considered to be close to the Hamas movement; however he’s not a member.

Jebril Rajoub, security advisor to the Palestinian President, said that Fateh has no objection on Shbeir to lead the coming Palestinian Government.

Rajoub added that he hopes that an agreement on the final formation of the government and its agenda would be reached.

“The most important thing is ending the siege imposed on the Palestinian people”, Rajoub stated, “The agenda of the government is more important than the figures”.

[Emperor Ronald Reagan]

For the life of me, I still don't understand why Hamas did not get rid (politically speaking) of Abbas: by putting him behind bars, and charging him with collaboration with foreign enemy occupation. Every national resistance movement dealt with collaborators--in the US war of independence, the French resistance, the Algerian resistance, and the Vietnamese resistance movement. Why should the Palestinian movement act differently? The standards are always different with Palestinians, and the Palestinians should from now on insist on adhering to their own national standards, and not to the standards of white colonial settlers dripping with contempt for other races. It is high time for the Palestinian national movement to discard the Oslo process altogether, and to go underground. That requires an end to any Arab governmental role: Arab governments, since the 1936 revolt in Palestine, always interfere to ease the way for Zionist colonization.

[Enragé]

if they would have done that, "palestine" would have fallen apart.

[Janus]

Merged.