Hamas & Fatah charters must be revoked

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert not to offer any concessions to the new PA/Hamas unity government at the summit due in Jerusalem on February 19. The ZOA is urging Secretary Rice and Prime Minister Olmert to demand that Hamas and Fatah abrogate their charters, immediately end promoting hatred and murder of Jews in the PA-controlled media, mosques, schools and youth camps that feed terrorism and immediately arrest the hundreds of terrorists who continue to operate freely within the PA.

The summit follows the recently concluded agreement reached in Mecca between Abbas’ Fatah and Hamas on forming a PA unity government. Under this agreement, Fatah agreed to served in a government run by Hamas which has not acceded to even the minimal conditions laid down by the Middle East Quartet ( U.S., European Union, United Nations, Russia) — recognizing Israel, renouncing the use of terrorism and accepting the existing Oslo agreements signed by the PA. The PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh has already announced that the new PA government will not recognize Israel.

A meeting held earlier this week between Prime Minister Olmert’s bureau chief Yoram Turbowicz and his political advisor Shalom Turjeman with chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat and Abbas’ chief of staff, Rafik al-Husseini to prepare for the upcoming summit faltered over whether the agenda should include discussions on a final status agreement. Olmert’s bureau chief Yoram Turbowicz and his political advisor Shalom Turjeman met this week with chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat and Abbas’ chief of staff, Rafik al-Husseini. The PA representatives at the meeting reiterated their demand that the summit address permanent settlement issues, but the Israeli representatives rejected the topic out of hand (Haaretz, February 15).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “It is vitally important that neither the U.S. nor Israel agree to any kind of concessions to the new Palestinian unity government, which is simply a new version of the existing PA terror regime and instead make some demands of the PA that have been unfulfilled in the 13 years since the Oslo agreement was signed. Neither Fatah nor Hamas accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, have renounced the use of terror or accept past agreements signed with Israel. The only difference is that Fatah has pretended otherwise when addressing the Western world, whereas Hamas is open about its position. In actual fact, both the Fatah Constitution and the Hamas Charter call for Israel’s destruction (Fatah Constitution, Article 12; Hamas Charter, Article 15) and the use of terrorism against Israelis (Fatah Constitution, Article 19; Hamas Charter, Article 7). Both groups have also murdered each nearly 500 Israelis and maimed thousands more since the Palestinian Arab terror wave that began in September 2000. It is therefore important to remember that this government is not acceptable not only because Hamas is now the leader or a part of it but because Fatah has also not meet the minimal conditions that would enable genuine negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

“In these circumstances, it would be a tragic mistake to accord any type of legitimacy to this PA/Hamas government by making concessions or offering rewards to it, especially discussing any of the major issues about peace. To do so would be to send the message that neither Fatah nor Hamas need change their rejection of Israel’s existence as a Jewish state or end the use of terrorism. It would send the message that the Palestinian Arabs need not fulfill their commitments under the signed Oslo agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan to arrest, jail and extradite terrorists, close the bomb factories and confiscate illegal weaponry; and end the incitement to hatred and murder of Israelis in the PA-controlled media, mosques, schools and youth camps which feed terrorism. None of these things have happened and there is no possibility of genuine peace and reconciliation until they do. American and Israeli diplomacy must be aimed at achieving these changes and that message must be made loud and clear by both Israel and the U.S. at next week’s summit.”