Abdel Khaled Natche, a top Hamas terrorist incarcerated in Israel, has withdrawn his name from the document, as has fellow prisoner, Bassem al-Saadi, a top Islamic Jihad member. A statement from the men, read by Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Fatah Chairman and PA President Mahmoud Abbas had used the document for political gain, rather than the solution to a deadlock that it was meant to be. Natche said he had withdrawn his signature on behalf of all Hamas prisoners.
Natche and al-Saadi accused Abbas of “unacceptable abuse” in their statement.
“The document is now a completely Fatah document,” announced Abu Zuhri. The two were angered by Abbas’ plan to hold a referendum on the document following Hamas' refusal to accept the plan.
The plan, authored by prisoners from the Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups, outlines a mode of cooperation between the rival Hamas and Fatah groups. It also stipulates a two-state solution, with a PA state drawn on all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as well as a total right of return to Israel for Arabs who left Israel following the modern Jewish state’s founding in 1948. In addition, it calls for PA Arabs to “focus their resistance on the lands occupied in 1967.”
The plan does not call for formal recognition of Israel, nor does it call upon Hamas to renounce violence or disarm, all of which are the preconditions set by the Quartet of Nations (United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia) for restoring international funding for the PA government.
Natche, a leader of the local Hamas militia in Hebron, helped formulate the document last month together with Marwan Barghouti, a senior leader of the Fatah party, and Bassem al-Saadi of Islamic Jihad. Hamas and Fatah were engaged in a bloody power struggle in the streets of Gaza at the time, one which has continued despite a number of ceasefires that have not held. The two parties continued their battles on Sunday, while leaders from both parties met again in another failed effort to work out their differences.
Abbas has pushed for acceptance of the document by Hamas, partly as a way of softening the terrorist organization’s stance on peace talks with Israel. Hamas has steadfastly refused to budge on the issue, prompting Abbas to issue an ultimatum to Hamas: Approve the plan, or face a general referendum on the document.
The original deadline was to be ten days after that announcement; however, negotiations and sabre-rattling by the two groups pushed back the setting of the deadline until this weekend, when Abu Mazen announced it will be held on July 26.
Abbas maintains that his position as President of the PA and chairman of the PLO gives him the authority to call a referendum on acceptance of the document, which implies a vague acceptance of Israel’s existence.
Hamas legislator and spokesman Mushir al-Masri called the ultimatum a " declaration of a coup against the government." He threatened that “whoever announced the referendum should shoulder responsibility for the dangerous consquences that may result."
Natche and al-Saadi accused Abbas of “unacceptable abuse” in their statement.
“The document is now a completely Fatah document,” announced Abu Zuhri. The two were angered by Abbas’ plan to hold a referendum on the document following Hamas' refusal to accept the plan.
The plan, authored by prisoners from the Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups, outlines a mode of cooperation between the rival Hamas and Fatah groups. It also stipulates a two-state solution, with a PA state drawn on all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as well as a total right of return to Israel for Arabs who left Israel following the modern Jewish state’s founding in 1948. In addition, it calls for PA Arabs to “focus their resistance on the lands occupied in 1967.”
The plan does not call for formal recognition of Israel, nor does it call upon Hamas to renounce violence or disarm, all of which are the preconditions set by the Quartet of Nations (United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia) for restoring international funding for the PA government.
Natche, a leader of the local Hamas militia in Hebron, helped formulate the document last month together with Marwan Barghouti, a senior leader of the Fatah party, and Bassem al-Saadi of Islamic Jihad. Hamas and Fatah were engaged in a bloody power struggle in the streets of Gaza at the time, one which has continued despite a number of ceasefires that have not held. The two parties continued their battles on Sunday, while leaders from both parties met again in another failed effort to work out their differences.
Abbas has pushed for acceptance of the document by Hamas, partly as a way of softening the terrorist organization’s stance on peace talks with Israel. Hamas has steadfastly refused to budge on the issue, prompting Abbas to issue an ultimatum to Hamas: Approve the plan, or face a general referendum on the document.
The original deadline was to be ten days after that announcement; however, negotiations and sabre-rattling by the two groups pushed back the setting of the deadline until this weekend, when Abu Mazen announced it will be held on July 26.
Abbas maintains that his position as President of the PA and chairman of the PLO gives him the authority to call a referendum on acceptance of the document, which implies a vague acceptance of Israel’s existence.
Hamas legislator and spokesman Mushir al-Masri called the ultimatum a " declaration of a coup against the government." He threatened that “whoever announced the referendum should shoulder responsibility for the dangerous consquences that may result."