Hamas and Fatah seal coalition accord

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said his Hamas government will resign in the coming days–a formality that should clear the way for a new coalition with the Fatah movement. Haniyeh acknowledged, however, that the Feb. 8 power-sharing deal between the two sides left key issues unresolved–most notably control over the security forces. Those issues could still cause the deal to unravel, but Haniyeh said in a televised address that both sides were committed to the agreement to bring an end to the bloody infighting that has plagued Gaza in recent months. "All Palestinians have won in this agreement," he said. Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to a division of cabinet positions but have not yet decided who will get the key post of interior minister and thus exert considerable control over the security forces. Wrangling over such control contributed to the deadly factional violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians. The deal also did not settle the fate of Hamas' 5,600-strong militia, which was formed last year over Abbas' objections. Under one proposal, members of the force would be absorbed into various security branches, as part of an overall reform of the security service, which are mainly loyal to Abbas. Palestinian officials hoped the deal would lead to a lifting of international sanctions that were imposed on the government after Hamas won elections last year. Israeli officials said the coalition deal failed to meet Western conditions to end the sanctions and initial reaction from the United States and Europe was muted, while Russia called for a restoration of aid. Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said Saudi mediators were in touch with the US and Europe to promote the accord. "[The West] cannot ignore this agreement and impose their own conditions," he said. "The European Union should open a dialogue with this new government and this is the only way to have stability in the region." The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the Palestinian agreement and said in a statement: "The implementation of Mecca agreements should be combined with lifting a blockade of the Palestinian territories which has inflicted suffering and hardship on the people." Though the lifting of sanctions remains in doubt, the deal appeared to reflect progress in solving -­ at least momentarily -­ the bitter rivalry between the two main Palestinian factions. It was greeted with relief and celebratory gunfire in Gaza, where internecine fighting cost 29 lives last week alone. Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus based leader of the Hamas delegation, insisted that violence must stop "immediately" and appealed to "our young people that this is an agreement of the leadership of the biggest groups, and none of you should accept any order from others to fire." Previous efforts to stem the bloodshed and find common political ground have resulted in short-lived ceasefires and a threat by Abbas to call a new parliamentary election, a move Hamas has said would be tantamount to a US-backed coup. Abbas said at the signing ceremony in the presence of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that "we hope that all shameful acts will now be halted." Abbas declared it will "satisfy our people... and bring us to the shores of peace." The formal letter of Abbas' reappointment of Haniyeh contained references to the need to "respect" previous agreements signed with Israel by the PLO and also called on the new government to abide by previous decisions of the Arab League. Those include the 2002 Beirut decision in favor of King Abdullah's peace plan which offered pan-Arab recognition of Israel in return for the latter's agreement to a two-state solution on 1967 borders. Fatah sources had suggested such a text meant that Hamas had agreed for the first time to accept the 2002 initiative.