Hamas behind reconciliation pause

Bassam al-Salhi Ramallah - Sona Adeek The Secretary-General of the Palestinian People's Party, Bassam al-Salhi, has accused Hamas of being responsible for impeding political reconciliation in Palestine by preventing the work of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) Central Electoral Commission (CEC) in Gaza. "The core of this reconciliation is the firm implementation of what was agreed in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas. We have a detailed agreement which only needs to be implemented," Salhi said in an exclusive interview with Arabstoday. Negotiations between West Bank-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas  have been deadlocked ever since it was agreed to reconcile the rival factions last year. Salhi underlined the importance of the voters' registry process to take place in Gaza under the supervision of the CEC, in addition to guarantying all freedoms in both Gaza and the West Bank, and focusing on the social side of the reconciliation as the three main points which have to be achieved in order to sort out the problems which hinder the reconciliation process. "I believe that the voters registry in Gaza must be resumed as I see no reason for stopping this process. The formation of a national consensus government is linked to the election process, and obviously the election is linked to the voters' registry," said Salhi. "Hamas is completely responsible for delaying the reconciliation. I urge them to change their position and let the electoral commission to carry out their work in Gaza," he added. Salhi voiced his support for the PA's decision to go to the UN General Assembly to seek recognition as an observer member. "The UN Security Council resolution number 181 issued in 1948 acknowledged the independent Palestinian state, so asking for UN membership in 2012 shouldn't be seen as a strange move. This move reflects our respect for international laws as a main foundation for our independent state in addition to the patriotic resistance . The People's Party backs the PA decision which would make the UN law an alternative background to the peace process instead of the negotiations which have led to nothing until now," the People's Party leader said. Salhi insistedthat Israel is to be blamed for the recent deadlock in the Middle East peace process, which he said was a result of Israel's "lack of seriousness" in negotiations. He also called on the PA to show an effective response to Israeli violations against Palestinian rights, mainly by stepping back on the political, economic and security agreements with the occupation government, and gathering the broadest support possible from Arab and international powers in the move to seek recognition for a Palestinian state in the UN. "The PA shouldn't return to negotiations with the Israelis. Otherwise they have to support the people's resistance and work on achieving national reconciliation. This would be the strongest response to the occupation's plots," Salhi concluded.