Itongadol.- A flurry of reports that Israel and Hamas were on the verge of signing a long-term deal has led to official denials in Jerusalem, and to deep concern among West Bank Fatah officials.
The officials warned that the agreement would pave the way for the establishment of a separate Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip.
The warning came amid reports that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have reached understandings regarding the proposed truce. Unconfirmed reports have claimed that Hamas was ready to strike a deal with Israel in return for the creation of a sea passage between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip.
Yasin Atkay, an advisor to Turkey\’s Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu, was quoted in a Gaza-based newspaper as saying a long-term Hamas-Israel deal was in the offing, as was reconciliation between Israel and Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident.
Hamas head Khaled Mashaal held talks in Turkey last week.
Despite these reports, the Prime Minister\’s Office reversed its previous policy of simply not responding to the stories, and issued an outright denial of them Monday evening.
“Israel formally clarifies that there are no meetings with Hamas,” a statement issued from the Prime Minister\’ office said. “Neither directly, through third countries, nor through mediators.”
The statement said that regarding the relations with Turkey, a reconciliation agreement was still a long way off.
Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf said that the reports about an imminent agreement between Hamas and Israel mean the consolidation of the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
“This would achieve Israel’s strategic goal of killing the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital,” Assaf cautioned. “Hamas wants to win Israeli recognition at the cost of the Palestinian national project.”
Assaf said that Hamas was not entitled to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians. Therefore, he added, the results of any negotiations would not be binding to anyone, “especially since Hamas is turning a blind eye to the Palestinians’ national rights and principles.”
Assaf said that the Oslo Accords and subsequent agreements with Israel allow Palestinians to have their own seaport in the Gaza Strip. He claimed that both Yasser Arafat and his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, had rejected the Israeli plan to establish a sea passage to the Gaza Strip that would be under Israel’s security, political and economic control.
“Hamas has chosen its narrow interests and winning Israeli recognition at the expense of the higher interests of the Palestinians,” the Fatah spokesman charged. “Hamas’s goal is to rid itself of its crisis without caring about the Israeli scheme to liquidate the Palestinian cause and indefinitely delay the discussion over core issues such as Jerusalem, refugees and settlements.”
Assaf urged Palestinians to foil the “Hamas-Blair conspiracy to slice off the Gaza Strip and eliminate Palestinian rights.”
Another Fatah spokesman, Osama Qawassmeh, claimed that the purported understandings between Hamas and Blair were designed to lay the foundations for the creation of new “Village Leagues” with religious clothing.
Qawassmeh was referring to the pro-Israel Village Leagues that were established in the West Bank in 1980 in a bid to undermine the PLO’s influence.
He said that Hamas was now ready to accept a truce with Israel in return for an Israeli-controlled sea passage to the Gaza Strip.
Qawassmeh too claimed that Israel was seeking to cut off the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and eliminate the Palestinian issue.
In response, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh denied that his movement was seeking to create a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. He told reports in Gaza City that Hamas’s strategy calls for the “liberation of all of Palestine from occupation.” He added: “Despite the pain, destruction and blockade, the Gaza Strip cannot give up Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.”