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PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff October 12, 2007 |
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In a confounding endorsement of a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, Christina Gallach, the spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, said the EU would give its blessing to a unity government, even though the EU considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
"We tell [Abbas] he has to do what he thinks is right," the Jerusalem Post quoted Gallach as saying. "On this issue, we will not take the lead."
The two Palestinian factions officially severed ties in June, following Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip, the culmination of months of bloody infighting. Hamas has since made several overtures to Fatah leaders, which many analysts speculate are attempts to undermine the progress that Fatah has achieved in negotiations with the US and Israel.
Gallach said that the EU would not engage Hamas before it recognizes Israel, but if Hamas and Fatah were to create a unity government, the EU would simply maintain relations with just the Fatah ministers.
"What we tell him [Abbas] is that he is the one we recognize, the one we support," she said.
Reconciliation between the two factions would undermine all of Israel and America's efforts to isolate Hamas and rout out extremism in region. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and advocates violent resistance against the Jewish state.
Israel has warned PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas not to reunite with Hamas.
"Hamas is a terror organization, and any connection of any type whatsoever to Hamas will not bring peace - not to Israel and not to the Palestinians," a Foreign Ministry official said.
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