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Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, risked the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. aid on Thursday by hailing a new era of partnership with Hamas.
After a two-hour meeting in Cairo with Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the radical Islamist movement, which is considered a terrorist organization by America and the European Union, Abbas declared: "There are no more differences between us now. We have agreed to work as partners."
The talks were the first step toward implementing a reconciliation pact agreed to in May between Hamas and the moderate Fatah faction led by Abbas.
While Palestinian officials from both sides welcomed the meeting as a "milestone," they stressed how many thorny issues remained to be resolved.
Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, while Abbas is based in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
The two leaders agreed to release Palestinian political prisoners held in their respective prisons. They also fixed Dec. 22 for a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo to address the formation of a unity government and the drafting of a reconciliation document. Both sides hope to hold Palestinian elections in the first half of 2012.
But key points of division remain unresolved. On Wednesday, Hamas said that it "will not recognize Israel and won't give up its principles."
On this basis, Israel has threatened to cut all security and financial relations with the Palestinian Authority if it includes Hamas in a unity government.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, urged the Palestinians to draw back from reunification with Hamas on Thursday, saying the "only path to achieving peace is through direct negotiations."
A united Hamas-Fatah government would not only face a crisis in relations with Israel.
The U.S., Canada and Australia are among governments that list Hamas as a terrorist organization. Last year, U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority totalled $600 million, a sum that would be in jeopardy if a unity govern-ment were formed.
The European Union also insists that it would not cooperate with Hamas unless it recognizes Israel and abandons violence.
Some Palestinian analysts interpreted the display of unity with Hamas as a sign that Abbas is abandoning a U.S.-led peace process in favour of popular resistance to Israeli occupation.
"The situation as it stands now is unbearable," said Samir Awwad, Professor of international relations at Bir Zeit University. "Negotiations have hit a serious dead end. The U.S., who are meant to be interlocutors in the peace process, have finally exposed their position and sided squarely with Israel. What remains for Abbas and the Palestinians but to oppose Israel's aggressive expansion of settlements and its annexation of Jerusalem with united popular resistance?"
The Arab League says it would provide aid to make up for any loss of U.S. or E.U. support. Even so, the Palestinian Authority would not function for long without their financial backing.
Also absent from the discussion was the issue of who would serve as prime minister of a unity government. Hamas repeated this week that it would not accept the unelected leadership of Salam Fayyad, the sitting prime minister appointed by Abbas. While Fayyad has indicated his willingness to step down if that would ease reconciliation, Fatah officials say that Abbas will fight to keep him. After the meeting, Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, insisted that Fayyad remains the only man for the job.
"It is not acceptable that Hamas or anyone should be able to veto someone," she said. "Fayyad has built institutions. He has proved himself to be a national leader. I can think of no one who could step in to replaced Fayyad. No one else is as credible, honest or acceptable."
Ashrawi stressed that the proposed Palestinian government would be a non-political body of technocrats.
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