Lieberman: Hamas will win elections in the West Bank and Gaza

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated on Thursday that if elections were to be held in the Palestinian territories, as Fatah and Hamas have agreed, it is clear that Hamas would win in both Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

The newspaper reported that Lieberman told Israel Radio: “It is clear that as soon as Abbas chose to unite with Hamas, it is impossible to make peace with Israel.”

Lieberman justified his position by saying that it is not acceptable for Israel to receive instructions from Hamas. “We will not accept a government that openly receives its authority from Hamas, an organisation that clearly speaks about violence, terror and doesn’t recognise our right to exist and doesn’t recognise our previous agreements.”

He asserted that once Abbas chose unity with Hamas, it became clear that he would never reach a peace agreement with Israel. “Hamas deals with classical terrorism; Abbas does diplomatic terror.”

Lieberman predicted that the international community would maintain pressure on Israel to continue peace negotiations with the Palestinians, but he noted that the United States supported Israel’s decision to cancel a meeting with the Palestinians scheduled for Wednesday in response to the Palestinian reconciliation agreement.

On Wednesday, a PLO delegation signed an agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The agreement ends the Palestinian divisions and will see the formation of a consensus government within five weeks. Arab countries, as well as the United Nations, welcomed the signing of the agreement, but Washington expressed its “disappointment”. Israel immediately responded angrily, deciding to cancel the negotiating session that was scheduled with the Palestinians for the same day. Netanyahu warned Abbas that he must choose between peace with Israel and reconciliation with Hamas.

Differences emerged between Fatah and Hamas after the latter won the majority of seats in the elections for Legislative Council in January 2006.

The differences peaked when armed clashes erupted between the two factions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. As a result of the clashes, Hamas took over the Strip, which is home to about 1.8 million Palestinians. Ever since, Gaza has been under an Israeli-imposed siege.

Fatah and Hamas previously reached two agreements: the first was signed in Cairo, Egypt in 2011 and the second in Doha, Qatar in 2012. The previous agreements aimed to provide the basis for activating reconciliation between the two factions through the formation of a unified, independent government headed by Abbas, which would prepare for legislative and presidential elections; however, the two agreements were never implemented.

Source: pls48.net