Zahar: Unity government won\'t end division

Senior Hamas leader, Dr Mahmoud al-Zahar, has insisted that setting up a new government for the Palestinian authority in Gaza and the West Bank, is not enough to end the division amongst the Palestinian factions, mainly between Fatah and Hamas.  Al-Zahar said this is mainly down to the fact that ending the division requires full implementation of all the procedures endorsed in the Cairo agreement, which includes; the restructure of the PLO, setting up the new government led by President Mahmoud Abbas, electing a new legislative house, reforming security apparatus and finally the social reconciliation between all the factions. Zahar stressed that the set up of a new government is the only one of these five aims, that has witnessed real developments towards implementation. Zahar added in a Thursday press statement, that Hamas "wouldn't accept any elections to take place in Palestine unless freedom is granted to all the Palestinian people," saying that the reconciliation doesn't mean adopting the same political stances by both Fatah and Hamas, but it means that the two organisations can deal with their differences peacefully, and accept the ballot boxes as a decider of who has the right to put his programs into effect. Zahar emphasised that the political developments in Egypt would affect all the Arab region, not only Palestine, asserting that several Arab countries "are waiting for a new leadership in Egypt to boost their position against Israel, as Hosni Mubarak's regime was considered a 'strategic ally' for the occupation." He insisted that all the counter campaigns against Hamas by some of the Egyptian media, are intended to spread fear among the Egyptians of a war between Egypt and Israel pushed by Hamas, as such allegations could affect the results of the presidential elections to the favour of the pro-former regime forces. On the recent military escalation from Israel against Gaza strip, Zahar said that the "limited response" of Hamas brigades against the Israeli attacks is part of Hamas's responsibilities as a ruling power in the strip. "We have warned of the reactions expected against the Israeli violations, but as these violations didn't stop, so we had to defend our people regardless of their political affiliations, as we have a legitimate government, which is responsible of the people's security," said Zahar.