I fear that the relationship between Egypt and Hamas has been ruptured beyond repair, like a broken glass that cannot be put back together. While this relationship was never really close, given Hamas's background with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, it has always remained within acceptable limits of reason and, until Hamas broke off in the Gaza strip. Its relationship with Egypt thus began to gradually deteriorate until the ties between the two parties were completely severed. In this vein, President Mubarak's speech two days ago during Police Day did not leave any room for speculation regarding the type of the ties currently present between Hamas and Egypt. It was the issue of the negotiations for Palestinian reconciliation that was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of this relationship. Since I am in direct contact with the negotiators and the Egyptian mediator, I heard many contradictory sides to the story in recent weeks. Brother Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas's political bureau, told me in Damascus that the Palestinian negotiators arrived at quasi final agreements in what pertains to the discussions of the reconciliation, elections, PLO, government and security apparatuses committees. However, Abu al-Walid said that Fatah has signed a document; when Hamas received it, it was discovered that certain items were removed or amended. As an example of his arguments, Abu al-Walid said that during the negotiations regarding the reforms of the PLO structure, there was an agreement on a provisional leadership in the transitional period that include the present head of the executive committee, and the president and members of the National Council, in addition to the Secretary Generals of the factions and independent figures. This provisional leadership would be headed by Abu Mazen in his capacity as the President of the National Authority, and would work during the transitional period to establish the foundations and mechanisms for the Palestinian National Council, which deals with national issues including economic issues and others through consensus. This provisional leadership would also execute the agreements reached in the national dialogue. However, the text received by Hamas after Fatah's ratification, as Brother Khaled Mashaal said, omitted the words which mentioned that these tasks “cannot be halted as they are issues of national consensus”. Brother Abu al-Walid said that if this deletion was not a mistake by the team that prepared the document, then perhaps this was done because the other party felt that Hamas is in a weak position with which it can be forced to accept whatever is being offered. He thus considered Fatah's signature to be “opportunistic”. But President Mahmous Abbas strongly denied the above, and denied that any amendments were made after the agreement. The Egyptian side also told me something similar. The Palestinian National Authority believes that Hamas does not want to sign, or that it cannot sign the document, because it is the captive of its own foreign alliances, especially with Iran which dictates certain positions on Hamas that contradict with Palestinian interests. I had previously presented some of the details of this issue, as I heard them from the negotiators themselves, an issue that President Mubarak sees as a threat to Egyptian national security, and hence refuses to cave in to any kind of pressure and blackmail. He confronts the latter by threatening with swift justice and stringent sentences against any party that threatens the country's security and unity of the people. The Intra-Palestinian strife combined with antagonizing Egypt serves Israel solely, and I don't know why I am expressing this opinion when it is as clear as the afternoon Sun, but perhaps the reason is that the Palestinians lost their vision after having lost their perception. While they are disputing, this is happening on the Israeli side: -The impostor Benjamin Netanyahu says that he does not want a war with Lebanon, while the other impostor Yossi Peled said that war with Lebanon is inevitable. If this was erupted, it will not be only aimed against Hezbollah alone, but also against Hamas and Syria. - The cabinet members of the Fascistic government will all travel outside of Israel to take advantage of the Holocaust anniversary. Netanyahu will be in Poland, Shimon Peres will travel to Berlin, while Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy Danny Ayalon will travel will respectively be in Hungary and Slovakia. -Netanyahu met with U.S envoy George Mitchell and declared the settlements to be part of Israel, after having planted a tree at the end of the week in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement. He had before that placed the condition that the issue of the Iranian nuclear program must first be resolved before he would engage the Palestinians. He then asked for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state as another condition. And recently, he insisted on keeping Israeli troops deployed on the eastern borders of the West Bank, namely in the Jordan River valley. - Israel will complete its response to the Goldstone report at the end of this month, which will attack Judge Richard Goldstone and deny all charges. I even do not discount the possibility that those neo-Nazi war criminals who make up the Israel government will say that the 420 women and children in Gaza were not killed by the occupation soldiers, but rather committed suicide along with 800 other Palestinians in Gaza. Finally, the Israeli commentary regarding the intra-Palestinian disputes and on Egypt's stance vis-a-vis Hamas are enough motivation for the Palestinians to bury the hatchet. However, they are doing that, and instead, they are burying their cause with their own hands. Anyone who thus supports one faction over another is a full accomplice to the crime being committed against Palestine and its people. [email protected]
