An illusive unity

While Haniyeh scores victories for all Palestinians, Abbas is frustrated in his hopes to bring down the Hamas government

By Khaled Amayreh
Al-Ahram Weekly

".......This apparent change of tactics was the result of two main factors. First, a number of Arab states, especially Egypt, reportedly asked Abbas to refrain from taking any dramatic and uncalculated steps at this time, telling him that a confrontation with Hamas would be disastrous for the Palestinian cause. Second, Hamas's own strong reactions to Abbas's remarks in Jericho, which came while Abbas was in the company of Secretary Rice, also militated against the Palestinian leader and probably convinced him that Hamas was not going to hand him the government on a silver platter.

There is a third important psychological factor that may have prompted Abbas and his aides to reconsider their options. Haniyeh's Arab tour has thus far been successful, even beyond expectations. In Egypt, Haniyeh was accorded a dignified reception and had meeting with high-ranking Egyptian officials. And in Qatar, a "miracle" occurred -- to use the words of a Palestinian official -- when the emir of the small but influential Arabian Gulf Emirate, Hamad Ibn Khalifa Al-Thani, undertook to pay the salaries of more than 40,000 Palestinian teachers for six months........

Similarly, Haniyeh's high-profile speeches in Damascus, especially at the Yarmouk Refugee camp, the largest in Syria, portrayed the Palestinian prime minister as more of a national Palestinian leader than of a leader of a single Palestinian faction, Hamas.

In such atmosphere, it was difficult for Abbas to appear as undercutting, even backstabbing, the Palestinian prime minister while he was making every effort possible to lift the throttling siege on the Palestinian people and alleviate their suffering. Indeed, any action against the Hamas-led government or Haniyeh -- for example, sacking him -- under such circumstances would have portrayed Abbas and his aides as stooges working for America and Israel......."