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Analysis: Hamas' Tight Spot

Council on Foreign Relations

June 5, 2006
Prepared by: Esther Pan

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has given the Hamas-led government until June 6 to agree on a Palestinian state alongside Israel (Haaretz). If Hamas refuses, Abbas says he will put the idea—proposed in a document drawn up by jailed Palestinian leaders (al-Jazeera)—to a public referendum by mid-July. Recent polls show the measure would pass by a large margin (WashPost), putting pressure on Hamas to agree. But the militant Islamist group has refused to renounce violence or recognize Israel since being elected to lead the PA in January. Their decision has cost the PA millions in foreign aid, leading to an economic crisis. Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine tells Bernard Gwertzman that Palestinians overwhelmingly support negotiating with Israel to end their dismal standoff, and see Abba's leadership on the issue as "a welcome change." And CFR fellow Steven Cook tells Gwertzman that Abbas' move is a "shrewd" one that puts pressure on Hamas while constraining Israel's actions.

The proposal that would go to voters is a five-page draft negotiated in prison by prominent jailed leaders of both Fatah and Hamas. They included Marwan Barghouti, perhaps the most popular Palestinian leader. The proposal calls for a Palestinian state to exist next to Israel, advocates a Palestinian unity government, states that Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state, and allows for a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Israel withdraws to the so-called 1967 borders. The idea has support in the Arab world: a similar proposal, known as the Arab Peace Initiative, called for Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders and accept returning Palestinian refugees.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.