Will the Quartet's conditions hinder the formation of a Palestinian national unity government or encourage it? Doaa El-Bey is pessimistic While the Palestinians are exerting every effort to form their national unity government, the Quartet has set a number of conditions that Palestinians must meet in order for their new government to receive international recognition. Jamil Nimri criticised the Quartet -- made up of the US, UN, Russia and the EU -- for imposing conditions on the Palestinians rather than stating what it wants from both them and the Israelis. However, Nimri did not believe these conditions -- recognising Israel's right to exist, renouncing violence and supporting previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians -- could cause any problems because they are implicitly included in the Mecca Accord reached last month. He added that Hamas accepted the Mecca Accord which calls on all signatories to respect previous pacts signed with Israel, which in turn call for Israel's recognition of Israel. "It is the rights of the Palestinians and not the Israelis that need to be recognised in the formation of a state beside Israel. It is not the Palestinians but the Israelis who need to forsake violence. Palestinians do not penetrate Israel, destroy houses and kill innocent civilians," Nimri wrote in the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad. He called on the Palestinians to accept the Quartet's conditions and see how it will use its authority in reaching a just settlement for the Palestinians, exactly as it used it before in imposing sanctions against the Palestinian government. Majid Al-Kayali sided with Nimri in criticising the Quartet for imposing conditions on the national unity government even before it is formed. He wrote that at a time when Israel has become a political de facto reality on the ground, it is the Palestinians who need somebody to recognise their rights. Al-Kayali wrote in the London-based daily Al-Hayat that the Quartet's demands do not serve any party any good but helps in aggravating the Palestinian problem while holding the Palestinians responsible for the Israeli occupation and all that it engenders. "These suspicious conditions could serve the Israeli and international (especially American) wish not to allow the Palestinians to resolve their internal problems," he added. He underlined that it was Israel that did not abide by signed Palestinian-Israeli agreements starting from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who said that there was no "set schedule", to Binyamin Netanyahu who wasted three years from 1996 to 1999 in procrastination and ending with Ehud Barak's attempt in 2000 to discuss the final settlement issues, including borders, settlements and Palestinian refugees, in an attempt to avoid giving the Palestinians any rights in the transitional phase. "It is clear that it is Israel that does not respect signed peace agreements because it is not ready to implement them or because of its colonial, racist nature, the absence of international pressure on it and the inter-Israeli differences on making peace with the Palestinians," Al-Kayali wrote. Iman Nassar wrote that the Palestinians are now at a crossroads. They could either accept the Quartet's conditions which could increase the likelihood of inter-Palestinian fighting or abide by the Mecca Agreement, establish a national unity government and gain unprecedented Arab support. Nassar called on all the Palestinian parties to establish the national unity government soon. She regarded the support of the Arab states to the new government as the first step towards breaking the embargo imposed on the Palestinians since the election of Hamas last year. Nassar ruled out getting any international support as the Quartet meeting showed. "The Quartet set a few conditions for the Palestinians. Meanwhile, it failed to mention any step to be taken against Israel for its practices in the Palestinian territories and for building the apartheid wall," Nassar wrote in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat. Yasser Al-Zaatra regarded inter-Palestinian clashes as sad, ascribing them to the failure of some parties to accept the results of the ballot box and their attempt to use power and international support to reverse these results. In the Lebanese daily Al-Aman , Al-Zaatra questioned whether the Mecca agreement could contribute to settling differences and putting an end to inter-Palestinian fighting. He regarded Hamas' acceptance of the Mecca accord as indicating it was not after mere authority. Giving up important ministries like foreign affairs and finance means Hamas has willingly given Fatah most of its authority. Al-Zaatra believed Fatah would never give up its fight against Hamas. He attributed Fatah's decision to ease fighting with Hamas to an American-Israeli desire to do so. However, he added Fatah would never stop its attempt to tarnish Hamas' image in the hope of completely ousting it from government at the next elections. Al-Zaatra concluded by emphasising that Fatah will carry on its fight with Hamas until it regained full authority so that it could continue to pull all the strings of the political game. "Clashes could erupt again if the powers in Fatah pull Hamas into fighting that could further tarnish its image as it searches for a coup against Hamas or in preparation for its possible defeat in the next elections," he wrote. Hani Al-Masri wrote in the United Arab Emirates daily Akhbar Al-Arab that the formation of the national unity government would face external as well as domestic obstacles. The external obstacles include the conditions set by the Quartet. However, Al-Masri said if all Arab states support the Mecca agreement and break the embargo, the new government would have a very good chances of success. The internal obstacles mainly lay in the fighting within each party including Fatah and Hamas over who will take part in the national unity government. Although the participation of all small parties is not required for the formation of the government, Al-Masri wrote the parties aim to establish a national unity rather than a coalition government in which all the parties and independent members should take part. That kind of government would be more capable to face the challenges ahead. He called on all parties to forget their differences and work towards achieving democracy for all Palestinian factions and people. "Democracy should not be treated as a one-day achievement but as a permanent goal to continuously strive for. Pluralism is the source of immunity, development and creativity," he concluded.
