Palestinian factions neared a deal yesterday on a political platform that might avoid a referendum showdown between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas-led government, officials said.
Tensions have escalated between Abbas's Fatah movement and Hamas since the president called a referendum for July 26 on a platform for statehood that implicitly recognizes Israel. Some fear their violent power struggle could lead to civil war.
But after four hours of talks early yesterday in Gaza, spokesmen for both Hamas and Fatah were optimistic an agreement was within reach on a manifesto drawn up by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
PHOTO: AP
"An agreement has become a done deal. There is no big difference over the remaining points," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri said.
Maher Meqdad, a spokesman for Fatah in the Gaza Strip, said: "We are at the door of an agreement ... we have overcome the difficult part."
Participant said the sides were not far apart on the issue of calling for a Palestinian state in all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem -- meaning a recognition of Israel next to it -- and on limiting resistance to Israeli occupation of the West Bank. If so, those would be major Hamas concessions.
Officials said a deal may be signed by the end of the week, but that disagreements remained over who would head a unity government of Hamas, Fatah and other factions. Hamas has agreed to but insists on heading a joint Cabinet. Fatah wants a non-partisan panel.
Abbas has said the vote would be cancelled if the rivals agreed on the document. A deal on the platform could also lead to a unity government.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian workers happily left Gaza postal banks on Monday carrying three crisp US$100 bills, their first pay since March, dipping into the funds senior Hamas officials hand-carried into Gaza to circumvent a Western aid cutoff.
Only postal banks dared handle the money because commercial banks fear anti-terrorism sanctions, and Palestinian officials admitted they had no way to transport the money to the West Bank, or even convert it to a local currency for electronic transfers.
Last week Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar hauled US$20 million in cash across the Egyptian border into Gaza, and another official followed with US$2 million. The money distributed on Monday came from those suitcases.
Though Hamas officials insist they'll continue carrying cash across the border, it's not nearly enough to solve their government's financial crisis. The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza with 165,000 workers, and their salaries add up to about US$130 million a month. The last three paydays have been missed, and another is due in less than two weeks.
In other news, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are both scheduled to attend an international gathering in Jordan this week, officials said yesterday, but it was unclear whether the two men would meet.
Palestinian officials said the meeting would take place tomorrow at a gathering of Nobel winners in Petra. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement hasn't been made, said the talks would not be an official summit, but also not be a "handshake in the hall."
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