Palestinian president in Oslo: Unity needed to manage aid

February 24, 2009

OSLO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday (Feb. 24) a new national unity government that includes rival Hamas must be in place and internationally recognized to manage humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister.

Past efforts to form a unity government have failed. Reconciliation talks are scheduled to begin in Egypt later this week between Hamas, which controls Gaza, and the more moderate Fatah movement led by Abbas, which controls the West Bank.

Abbas said one reason previous unity governments failed was because key powers, including Israel and the United States, refused to accept a coalition that included Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

“This (new unity) government must have the acceptance and recognition of all parties,” said Abbas, appearing at a brief news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Abbas said he hopes the upcoming talks in Cairo will lead Hamas to accept deals with Israel agreed to by previous Palestinian administrations even if they are not in line with the group’s own political platform. “When governments come, they respect and honor the obligations of a previous government,” he said. “That’s what we ask.”

Abbas was a key player in secret Norwegian-led talks that led to the now-failed Oslo Agreement accords for Middle East peace. Norway was the first Western country to recognize the previous Fatah-Hamas coalition when it took power in 2007.

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