Palestinian Newspaper Urges Arab Support for New Government

Text of editorial headlined “Arab support is needed for the unity government”, published on Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds website on 17 March

Constitutional measures will be completed today to endorse the Palestinian unity government. This government will today submit its programme to the Palestinian Legislative Council [PLC], which – according to all indications – will confirm this government, especially as it has come as a result of an agreement between the two main factions, Fatah and Hamas, which have the majority of seats in the PLC.

This comes at a time when international reaction has ranged from welcoming this government and considering it a chance to get out of the current impasse facing the peace process, as expressed by most European states, as well as Russia and China, to anticipation as in the case of Washington, to rejection as Israel has done, to full support as expressed by several Arab capitals.

This means that the government’s undertaking of its task, especially in connection with the economic, security, and political aspects, is still colliding with the obstacle of the Israeli rejection and the ambiguous US position – something that will reflect negatively not only the government’s tasks, but also on the overall situation in the region, including the political process sponsored by the Quartet.

As opposed to the government formed by Hamas after its election victory, when the United States, Israel, and the European states hastened to boycott it, while a number of Arab capitals were reluctant to do business with it, this government with its programme based on the Mecca accord enjoys Arab support and understanding and welcome by several European states. Even the United States has not rushed to reject this government. Therefore, this government needs Arab support now in the international arena to strengthen and buttress the international positions supportive of this government and to secure US recognition of the importance of doing business with this legitimate government that expresses Palestinian national consensus. Therefore, it is possible for the unjust economic blockade to collapse and for the peace process to start again if the international community is really concerned with the security and stability of the region.

In this Palestinian-Arab effort, it is very important to emphasize the unity of the Arab position towards the peace process and the commitment of the Palestinian government to Arab legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative and its respect for international legitimacy and the agreements signed by the PLO – something that is already contained in the government’s political programme. This constitutes a good basis for the government’s ability to do business with the international community.

Perhaps the Arab summit that will be held in Riyadh end of this month, in which Palestine will participate, will be a unique opportunity to convey a clear message to the whole world, including the United States and Israel, that the Arabs and Palestinians are committed to the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the international legitimacy resolutions. This in effect means that the Palestinian government is receptive to the requirements for launching a real and serious peace process very distant from the language of dictates, conditions, double standards, or bias towards to Israel shown in the positions of some international powers.

With these unified Arab and Palestinian positions, we are confident that the whole world will respect this decision and deal with it – something which will isolate the rejecting Israeli position and push Israel to rethink its position, including its position on the new Palestinian government. Restarting the peace process is no longer a Palestinian mission but also an Arab mission after the Palestinian side has exerted every effort to arrive at a national unity government, whose birth we celebrate today.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.