Christoph Heinemann: While Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas was talking to Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu was visiting Elysee. Vice versa, the situation might have been more comfortable, since both visitors got to hear things they might not like. The Federal Chancellor is against a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, while French President Nicholas Sarkozy considers the recognition of a state, even without a negotiated agreement to the Middle East Conflict. The whole situation is impeded by the surprising reconciliation of the moderate Fatah organization with the radical Islamic Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip. The Federal government is skeptical.
Tuesday night, my colleague Tobias Armbrüster talked to Joachim Paul, director of Heinrich Boell Foundation in Ramallah, and asked him whether he shares this skepticism.
Joachim Paul: I wonder about the government’s reaction. We know about the criteria of the Quartet on the Middle East, now there was movement on the Palestinian side, both, Fatah and Hamas, signed the so-called Egyptian paper. Hamas agreed to renounce violence in a certain framework. This means, they said, they would stick to the unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. That is why I consider it as very meaningful to take a constructive approach to the agreement, and towards the Palestinian unity government that is to be formed.
Tobias Armbrüster: Should the Federal government accept a government, which partly denies Israel’s right to exist?
Paul: First of all, we do not know the political program of the new government. We only know the basis on which it is formed ...
Armbrüster: But the position of Hamas is clear…
Paul: ... Hamas‘ position is the following: Hamas stated several times that they consider the borders of 1967 as the borders of a future Palestinian state, which factually is a recognition of Israel’s right to exist. It should not be about knock-out criteria now, but about options for cooperation, to find a way out of the crisis. Also, we should not forget that the sudden reconciliation was possible due to the change in Egypt. The Egyptians quickly developed a new foreign policy after the fall of Mubarak. The Palestinian unity is the first big project of the new Egyptian government, the transitional government, and a new situation was created for the whole region. This new situation demands, not to relaunch old criteria, but the search for options for constructive cooperation. And I think that the declaration by Hamas, - Hamas itself won’t be represented in the government, allows us to wait and see if they continue to stick to the ceasefire.
Armbrüster: When I understood you correctly, you are saying that- although the rest of the world says: Hamas does not want to recognize Israel- de factor they do.
Paul: The leaders of Hamas stated several times that they can imagine a Palestinian state within the borders of 1967…...
Armbrüster: ... but without mentioning Israel!
Paul: I mean the borders of 1967 are the dividing line between the state of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Westbank and Gaza Strip. And the Egyptian paper, the agreement, which was signed jointly, refers to these borders, the paper also schedules elections, elections for the Palestinian legislative council, the parliament of the Palestinian Authority, the presidency of the PA as well as the PLO. The PA is based on the Oslo Accords, and the Oslo Accords determines the division between Israel and the Palestinian territories, which means all action takes place within this framework.
Armbrüster: Mr. Paul, I want to come back to the position of the Federal government, which is clearly skeptical. How do the Palestinians perceive this?
Paul: The Palestinians do not receive this well. Just today I was talking to a policeman in the street. I asked him: What do you think about the reconciliation. And he said, first of all it is bad, when we do not receive money anymore. With this comment, he pointed to the decision of the Quartet on the Middle East, which includes the EU, after the elections in 2006, to put cooperation with the PA on hold, and to suspend payments. I consider this as a very bad signal, if this happens – I hope not – and this is also one of the big fears of the Palestinians.
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