Meretz USA Cautiously Optimistic About Palestinian Unity Agreement

02/09/07

New York, NY…. Meretz USA President Larry Lerner called the announcement of the Mecca Accord reached today by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader, Khaled Mash’al, establishing a Palestinian unity government, “a potential step forward upon which all sides must build if progress toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to be resumed.”

Lerner noted that “the accord is clearly not a perfect document from Israel’s standpoint: Hamas is still refusing to explicitly recognize the State of Israel. However, by agreeing to honor the agreements signed by the PLO – including the Oslo accords, which, until now, it had adamantly refused to accept – Hamas seems to be taking a first, if agonizingly slow, step towards coming to terms with Israel’s existence. Hopefully, we will know more when Secretary Rice travels to the region shortly. Through steady and consistent diplomatic engagement, which we ardently encourage, the US can send a signal to both sides that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is once again an American foreign policy priority.”

The rest of the Meretz USA President’s statement follows:

It is to be hoped that a functional Palestinian government will now compel all Palestinian armed factions to respect the fragile Israeli-Palestinian Gaza cease-fire agreement. Moreover, we urge all parties to extend the cease-fire agreement to the West Bank as well. Although not yet a renunciation of violence on the part of Hamas, a lengthy period of calm will remind both war-torn societies that peace is still possible and desirable.

We are also hopeful that this agreement can put an end to weeks of intra-Palestinian bloodshed and strife. The growing lawlessness and instability in the Palestinian Authority has served no one, except organizations such as Al-Qaeda that thrive on conditions of social chaos.

Founded on a platform of “obliterating” Israel, Hamas must still be judged carefully. Its willingness to ‘respect’ prior agreements must be more than just lip service. Clearly, a Palestinian unity government that implements calm and turns toward negotiations would make a real contribution to peace. Israel, for its part, should honor its obligations under the roadmap by dismantling West Bank outposts, easing conditions for the Palestinians, and outlining a two-state vision based on the 1967 boundaries in order to help rebuild trust and restore an atmosphere of hope.”