CGNews - Jerusalem - Internal Palestinian and regional developments have left the Palestinian leadership with few options. The devastating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) has reached a threatening level for both the Palestinian president and the Hamas government.

The array of unresolved issues is immense, and the unity government option would only be a small step toward ending the international embargo placed on the Palestinians and their government.

An agreement between President Abbas and Prime Minister Haniyeh on a possible unity government is also still vague in its details and far from being accepted.

Both sides had given a different understanding and interpretation to the agreement. Hamas has reiterated that this agreement doesn't implicitly or explicitly indicate recognition of Israel. Moreover, Hamas officials have also emphasized that the "prisoner's reconciliation document", which served as the platform for recent discussions between the President and Hamas, was only adopted after it was amended to remove any mention of Israel's right to exist.

Hence, the international precondition that requires Hamas' adherence to agreements signed by the PLO as well as to United Nations resolutions, has been sidestepped for the present. Hamas officials have been described as finding ways "to deal" with the international community's prerequisites without necessarily accepting them. Hamas has explained that the political guidelines of the proposed unity government, which endorsed the decisions of the 2002 Arab Summit in Beirut, were tantamount to recognizing Israel's right to exist, but still cannot be taken as an explicit recognition of Israel or its occupation.

This agreement, according to Hamas, does not compromise Hamas' principles and positions. Thus, Hamas will continue to promote its own program, mainly around the issues of resistance and refusing to recognize Israel.

Nor does the proposed "unity government" agreement present a unified political program, regardless of the statements of both sides, which considered the "prisoner's national reconciliation" document as the foundation for consensus. But this document cannot be taken seriously as a political program; it only stipulates that the Palestinian parties reach and formulate a unified political program without presenting anything specific.

The international community and regional countries have expressed dissatisfaction with the possible Palestinian unity agreement, as it looks now. The EU has described it as a positive step, but certainly not the end of the road, thus it's expected that the EU would work on easing the Palestinian situation without lifting sanctions.

Some regional countries have also presented their reservations and concerns regarding the agreement, especially given that Hamas will continue to head the government.

Israel has not shown any intention of dealing with any government formulated by Hamas or led by Hamas; this position is not distant from the U.S. official stand on Hamas. In the joint press conference at the State Department with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Rice said that the U.S. believes that the principles set by the Quartet represent the will of the international community; she also stated, "It's hard to have a partner for peace if you don't accept the right of the other party to exist. It goes without saying that it's hard to have a process for peace if you do not renounce violence."

The international community has not softened its position on its four preconditions -- previously there were only three -- for the Hamas government to obtain international recognition: recognizing Israel, renouncing terror, accepting previous agreements with Israel, and the adoption of the Saudi Peace Plan, a fourth precondition set by Fatah and Abu Mazen.

The only meaningful outcome of the inter-party talks so far is the consensus between the parties on keeping the negotiation file in the hands of the Palestinian president. This step was expected as it serves all parties under the current circumstances. The international community and Israel have the same objective, regardless of the formation of a unity government; Rice has reiterated the U.S.'s commitment to continue negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, even after he joins a national unity government with Hamas. "He is someone with whom we can work and we are working." This step was immediately followed by the president's affirmation that Palestinian foreign affairs are under the full responsibility of Farouk Qaddoumi and the PLO.

At the same press conference with Rice, Israeli Foreign Minister Livni said that Israel is willing to negotiate with Abbas and that "stagnation is not the policy of the government of Israel".

From Hamas' viewpoint, Haniyeh has claimed that this lies outside the jurisdiction of the Palestinian government. "The PLO is responsible for the negotiations [with Israel], not the government."

But this small achievement won't move the Palestinians forward, and it is useless if the negotiations are not conducted with full Palestinian consensus and acceptance of the process. It would be proper to seek a different solution to internal Palestinian dilemmas.

President Abbas is now left with one option: If a unity government is not viable, an "emergency government" without Hamas is the only possible option. This option is risky for the president and the Palestinians, and Hamas will probably reject it, leading to a civil war.

Eventually, the failure of the internal Palestinian system will drive the international community to intervene. Regional countries might see their intervention as needed and unavoidable, but will they make a difference? This is hard to predict, but for now it seems that all attempts to bring life to the Palestinians will resemble attempts to revive the dead.



* Khaled Duzdar is a Palestinian writer and political analyst. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.