Graphic from Palestinian Pundit -- Mr. Fish (amazing isn't he?)Article from Electronic Intifada; portion below; whole thing here: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10367.shtml
Still reeling from the Israeli massacres in the occupied Gaza Strip,
Palestinians have lately had little to celebrate. So the strong
start to intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo last week
provided a glimmer of hope.
An end to the schism between the resistance and the elected but
internationally-boycotted Hamas government on the one hand, and the
Western-backed Fatah faction on the other, seemed within reach. But
the good feeling came to a sudden end after what looked like a
coordinated assault by United States Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, European Union High Representative Javier Solana, and Fatah
leader Mahmoud Abbas whose term as president of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) expired on 9 January.
On Friday 27 February, the leaders of 13 Palestinian factions,
principal among them Hamas and Fatah, announced they had set out a
framework for reconciliation. In talks chaired by Egypt's powerful
intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, the Palestinians established
committees to discuss forming a "national unity government,"
reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to include all
factions, legislative and presidential elections, reorganizing
security forces on a nonpolitical basis, and a steering group
comprised of all faction leaders. Amid a jubilant mood, the talks
were adjourned until 10 March.
Then the blows began to strike the fragile Palestinian body politic.
The first came from Clinton just before she boarded her plane to
attend a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh ostensibly
about pledging billions in aid to rebuild Gaza.
Clinton was asked by Voice of America (VOA) whether she was
encouraged by the Cairo unity talks. She responded that in any
reconciliation or "move toward a unified [Palestinian] Authority,"
Hamas must be bound by "the conditions that have been set forth by
the Quartet," the self-appointed group comprising representatives of
the US, EU, UN and Russia. These conditions, Clinton stated, require
that Hamas "must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by
previous commitments." Otherwise, the secretary warned, "I don't
think it will result in the kind of positive step forward either for
the Palestinian people or as a vehicle for a reinvigorated effort to
obtain peace that leads to a Palestinian state."
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