Israel to take measures to strengthen Abbas against Hamas

22 June 2007

From Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem

The Israeli apartheid regime will take a set of “far-reaching” measures to strengthen Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas against the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, the Israeli media reported Friday.

Hamas-backed militiamen last week defeated American-armed and financed Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip, taking control of their security headquarters and confiscating large amounts of arms and military equipment.

Israeli newspapers reported that Israel would transfer to Abbas’s office in Ramallah hundreds of millions of dollars of frozen Palestinian tax revenue returns withheld by Israel ever since Hamas’s election victory in 2006.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that the measures would be announced during a four-way summit meeting to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh under the auspices of Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan .

Jordan King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Husni Mubarak Abbas are closely associated with the American policy in the Middle East .

According to Ha’aretz, the proposed “Package of gestures” will include releasing frozen Palestinian money, removing some secondary checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank as well as the possible suspension of extra-judicial assassinations targeting Fatah fighters in the West Bank .

Israel might also release some Fatah prisoners in order to increase Abbas’s popularity among Palestinians.

This week, several Israeli officials, including two former cabinet ministers, publicly called for the release of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan el-Barghouthi, now spending a five life-term sentence in an Israeli jail for resisting the Israeli oppression of Palestinians and occupation their homeland.

However, the Shin Beth has voiced opposition to the idea of releasing Bartghouthi on the ground that his release might undermine the status of Dahlan within Fatah. Barghouthi advocates cooperation with Hamas and is firmly opposed to compromising Palestinian national constants, including full Israeli withdrawal from 100% of the occupied territories and resolving the refugee problem pursuant UN resolution 194.

Other “concessions” to Abbas reportedly include encouraging investors, primarily from the Arab to build industrial plants in the West Bank and giving the American government a green light to supply Abbas with more advanced arms.

Other Hebrew sources also indicated that Israel might be willing to pressure the Bush Administration to ask Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Arab countries such as Qatar , and the United Arab Emirates to increase their financial aid to the PA and stop financial assistance to the elected Hamas-led government.

The Ha’aretz newspaper also quoted an unnamed “defense official” as saying on Thursday that the army “is leaning toward maintaining the current quality of arms in the West Bank ” which means allowing Abbas’s regime to replace decommissioned weapons only.

The United States and Israel have openly embraced the “emergency government” of Salam Fayyad, a favorite of the West, formed earlier this week to replace the Gaza-based National Unity government headed by Ismael Haniya.

The US, which imposed a draconian blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip following Hamas’s election victory last year, has been trying to undo the outcome of Palestinian elections by arming and giving large amounts of money to Muhammed Dahlan for the express purpose of undermining Hamas rule.

On 8 February, Hamas and Fatah reached a power-sharing agreement in Mecca which paved the way for the formation of a national unity government.

However, the Bush administration silently rejected the agreement on the ground that it left Hamas in a predominant position at the Palestinian political arena.

Subsequently, Elliot Abrams, the American Jewish official in charge of the “Palestinian file,” reportedly connived with Dahlan and his allies within Fatah to carry out a coup against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for the purpose of eliminating Hamas and the National Unity government once and for all.

According to documents seized by Hamas at the Fatah intelligence headquarters at Tel el Hawa (henceforth Tel al Islam), Dahlan was to carry out the coup on 13 July.

Abrams, who is reportedly answerable to AIPAC, the powerful American Jewish lobby, wanted to achieve two main goals, apart from undoing the Mecca Agreement and ending the unity government: These include, first, igniting a large-scale Palestinian civil war in both in Gaza and the West Bank in order to enable Israel to tell the world that “how can we make peace with Palestinians while they are killing each other?!!.”

The civil war, especially an extended one, would also enable the Jewish state to build more Jewish-only settlements and complete the Judadization of Jerusalem, including the possible demolition of the Aqsa Mosque.

And second, Elliot Abrams, probably in concert with right and far-right circles in Israel, hoped that by having a “moderate Palestinian leadership”, e.g. Dahlan, Abbas, et al, and by eliminating any opposition to Dahlan within Fatah, the US and Israel would be able to impose a “lasting solution” on the Palestinians.

According to confidential information obtained from reliable sources within Fatah, such a solution would include the following components: First, the creation of a quasi-Palestinian state on 60 % of the West Bank made up of three enclaves or Bantustans in the northern, central and southern parts of the West Bank; Annexation to Israel of the vast bulk of Jewish settlements, including Ma’ali Adomim, Ariel and Gush Itzion; renting other settlements such as Kiryat Arba for 99 years; East Jerusalem would remain under the Israeli occupation; and no Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return to their homes and towns in what is now Israel.

The outlines of the solution Israel and the US are contemplating also include giving the “moderate” Palestinian government, e.g. Abbas and Dahlan, billions of dollars for economic recovery, ostensibly to silence expected opposition to the sell-out.

Fatah and PA officials have vehemently denied that they will ever accept such a deal.

One officials who asked that his name not be mentioned said: “Yes, we receive money and arms from America , but that doesn’t mean that we are going to accept everything the Americans are demanding.”