Fatah spokesman: We refuse to accept US terms for PA-Hamas unity government
Headline: “Fatah and Hamas to Wattan: We refuse the conditions of the American peace envoy”
“Fatah Movement Spokesman [and Fatah Revolutionary Council member] Osama Al-Qawasmi said in response to the American position towards the reconciliation that the Palestinian [Fatah-Hamas] reconciliation and national unity are an internal affair in which nobody has the right to interfere.
US President [Donald Trump’s] envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt said today [Oct. 19, 2017] that ‘any Palestinian government that is established under the guarantee of the reconciliation agreement will be forced to unambiguously commit to the Quartet [ US, EU, Russia, and UN] conditions, abandon violence, recognize the State of Israel, and accept the previous agreements and obligations that were signed between the PA and Israel, including disarmament and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. If Hamas is interested in any role in a Palestinian government, it must accept these basic requirements.’
Al-Qawasmi added to [the independent Palestinian news agency] Wattan that Fatah will not allow anyone, and particularly not the occupation state, to veto the Palestinian reconciliation.
He also condemned Greenblatt’s words and asked: ‘Is it required of the Israeli political parties to recognize the Palestinian people, the Palestinian state, or international law? Is it required of the extremists in the Israeli coalition to recognize the Palestinian State?’”
The following is the statement by US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt on Oct. 19, 2017, regarding the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation:
“All parties agree that it is essential that the Palestinian Authority be able to assume full, genuine, and unhindered civil and security responsibilities in Gaza and that we work together to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinians living there. The United States reiterates the importance of adherence to the Quartet principles: any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognize the State of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties – including to disarm terrorists – and commit to peaceful negotiations. If Hamas is to play any role in a Palestinian government, it must accept these basic requirements.”