Provided Hamas accepts Israel, meets other conditions, opposition leader says
Tzipi Livni , the leader of the Israeli opposition, indicated on Thursday that Hamas which is reconciling with Fatah, could be party to an interim peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians under the right circumstances.
Speaking to foreign correspondents in Jerusalem following the surprise unity announcement between the Islamist Hamas and Fatah, Livni said the reconciliation was “a test” over whose ideology would prevail in a future Palestinian government. Hamas calls for Israel’s destruction while the Western-backed Fatah movement backs a negotiated peace agreement with Israel.
“Now we have a new mix and we are going to find out in the future whether this mix is going to strengthen Hamas … or whether this is going to lead to the acceptance of the requirements of the international community, which are not against Hamas but are pro-peace,” Livni said.
These requirements, which were spelled out by the quartet of nations comprising the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, include Hamas renouncing violence, accepting Israel and accepting agreements entered into by the Palestinian Authority, including the Oslo Accords.
Livni’s remarks came on the back of a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who reacted to the reconciliation deal with an ultimatum, telling Fatah it had to choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas.
Livni, whose Kadima party holds more seats than Netanyahu’s Likud party, was more cautious, saying the unity efforts by the Palestinians should be given a chance to play themselves out.
“This new government can lead to two completely different possibilities,” she said. “One is that Hamas is going to take over literally, not only Gaza but also the West Bank, and the other that this government is going to accept the requirements of the international community, re-enter the negotiation room.”
“I believe that Hamas as a movement has its own difficulty accepting Israel’s right to exist and to end the conflict,” she added. “Hamas can be a partner for something that is interim, but Hamas cannot be a partner to an agreement that ends the conflict, and this is, I believe, the only interest of Israel and the Palestinian people.”
Livni, who served as foreign minister under the previous government of Ehud Olmert, quickly threw cold water on the possibility that the rapprochement in the Palestinian leadership would necessarily open the door to joining a new Israeli government coalition.
“It’s not an answer to the Palestinians. ‘You have a unity government now, let’s have our unity,’” she quipped. “For me the only reason to be in a government is in order to achieve a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians …This government is based on a completely different policy, a completely different vision. There is nothing for me to do there.”
The unity agreement comes as peace talks are stalled and Israel is seeking to head off unilateral Palestinians efforts to seek United Nations recognition in September of statehood in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Livni echoed Netanyahu’s position that direct talks were the only option for establishing a Palestinian state, which she termed a genuine Israeli strategic interest.
But Livni criticized Netanyahu’s government’s position of not embarking on political peace-making initiatives while the Middle East was swept up in a wave of upheaval, calling it a “historical mistake for the future of Israel and Israeli interests.”
Next month, Netanyahu is expected to deliver a speech before the U.S. Congress, which reportedly will include new, interim steps toward a peace agreement.