Contributed by Lucia
"Israel and the Palestinian Authority will never succeed in implementing a permanent political agreement, unless Hamas decides to approve it, adviser to former prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah yesterday told Haaretz.
The adviser, Ahmed Yusef, went on to say that the negotiations between the U.S. and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas hinged on future negotiations between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah. The two rival organizations severed all connections following Hamas' violent seizure of power in the Gaza Strip last June. "Abbas' talks with the U.S. will continue to be no more than 'photo-ops' for as long as Hamas is not involved in the talks," said Yusef....
Yusef added that any agreement Abbas might eventually sign with Israel will need to be approved either by a national Palestinian referendum, or in a general election. "No such event will take place, unless Hamas authorizes it," he explained. "Hamas is an important regional player and it will continue to be a cardinal player in any sort of political agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.".....
Yusef was equally pessimistic about the prospects of the international peace conference that U.S. President George W. Bush announced he was planning for sometime this fall. "This summit has virtually no chance of getting off the ground. It represents nothing more than Washington's desire to secure an achievement in the Israeli-Palestinian sphere, to make up for its failures in Iraq."......"
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