Hamas Refuses Abbas’ Condition for Acknowledging Int’l Resolutions

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
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Hamas Refuses Abbas’ Condition for Acknowledging Int’l Resolutions

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)

Hamas has rejected conditions presented by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas for achieving national unity and forming a consensus government. The Gaza ruling group claimed that complying with Abbas’ terms meant surrendering to Israeli conditions.

“The requirements of President Abbas to form a government and achieve national unity are dependent on Zionist conditions and contradict the state of the Palestinian national consensus,” said Hamas Spokesperson Abdul-Latif Al-Qanou.

“Any national dialogue should be based on Cairo understandings,” affirmed Al-Qanou.

Al-Qanou accused the PA President of having opposing positions to national consensus, violating signed agreements and practicing tyranny.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson defended Hamas by saying it had made concessions at every stage in the hopes of achieving national consensus.

Abbas has requested that Hamas to recognize international resolutions before engaging in dialogue over national unity.

Responding to a letter passed to him by prominent Palestinian businessman Munib Al-Masri, who met with the Hamas leadership in Gaza and abroad, Abbas wrote: “Hamas has to recognize the international resolutions in order to be a partner.”

Al-Masri described his meetings with Hamas officials as “positive” and reiterated the movement’s intention to end the internal Palestinian division and reach national reconciliation.

Abbas stressed that “there would be no dialogue with them (Hamas)” unless he is sent a letter by Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh that is personally signed by him.

Reconciliation talks between Abbas’ Fatah, the second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and Hamas are at a standstill.

The last serious attempt to reboot talks took place last June when Egypt engaged in a one-on-one dialogue with the two parties before launching an inclusive national dialogue that was canceled at the last minute due to the differences between Fatah and Hamas.

The two sides differed over the elections, which were ultimately cancelled, the government, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and reconstruction of Gaza.



EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the group claimed attacks deep into Israel.  

The Israeli military said Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into Israel during the day. Some of them were intercepted but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.  

A day after the health ministry said Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon killed 84 people, state media reported two strikes on Sunday on the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel's military said it had attacked "headquarters" of the group "hidden within civilian structures" in south Beirut.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following that group's October 7 attack on Israel.

The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.  

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.  

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp" and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.  

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said.  

"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse", he warned.  

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area.  

The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, and reiterated earlier calls for "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon."