Arab League angered by the ongoing Palestinian divisions, threatens ‘sanctions’

Tuesday September 09, 2008 22:50 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Arab League expressed during its Cairo meeting its anger over the ongoing divisions and tensions between Fatah and Hamas and threatened to impose sanctions if the Palestinian parties do not achieve reconciliation. 

Arab League

Arab Foreign Ministers held a regular meeting which was attended by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas and discussed Egyptian efforts at achieving reconciliation between Palestinian factions, especially between Fatah and Hamas.

Amro Mousa, Arab League Secretary-general, said that the league will not accept to deal with reconciliation which takes years to be achieved similar to the peace process with Israel, and added that this issue should be resolved as soon as possible.

Mousa also said that the Arab League is awaiting the results of the reconciliation efforts practiced by Egypt under the support on the League and added that the Israeli measures to change facts on the ground are reducing the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian State.

The Saudi Foreign Minister said that the ongoing internal tension in Palestine is harming the Palestinian cause and added that the Palestinians should understand the risks of this tension and internal divisions.

It is worth mentioning that Saudi Arabia mediated an agreement between Fatah and Hamas last February in order to form a national unity government which includes all factions, but the agreement did not last. Yemen also mediated between Fateh and Hamas but to no avail.  

Mousa said that the sanctions that the Arab League is waving will target all factions if they fail to achieve reconciliation, and that the Arab countries are currently discussing the measures which they would take if the internal Palestinian tension is not resolved.

He said that he is very angry with the Palestinian factions and said that “these factions are fighting each other in order to control ministerial posts”, and added “we fooled ourselves and called the Palestinian Authority a State, it is not a state, and will never be a state until all Palestinian rights are achieved”.  

Hamas movement expressed dissatisfactions over the decisions made by Foreign Arab Ministers who convened on Monday in Cairo.

Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, said that the ministers failed to make any serious and important decisions especially regarding the unjust Israeli siege on Gaza and the ongoing Israeli violations in Palestine and in Jerusalem especially the violations against the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Barhoum added that the ministers should have acted to break the siege which is still claiming the lives of civilians and children.

He added that the lack of pressure on the occupation and the lack of an official Arab stance encourage the occupation to carry further attacks and violations against the Palestinian people and Jerusalem.   

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