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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Palestinians split on unity plan | Palestinians split on unity plan |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said any unity government negotiated with militant group Hamas would recognise Israel and renounce violence. | Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said any unity government negotiated with militant group Hamas would recognise Israel and renounce violence. |
| A Hamas official responded that there would be no explicit recognition but said it was prepared to agree to a 10-year truce with the Jewish state. | A Hamas official responded that there would be no explicit recognition but said it was prepared to agree to a 10-year truce with the Jewish state. |
| Mr Abbas is seeking a government which includes his Fatah movement and Hamas, which won elections in January. | Mr Abbas is seeking a government which includes his Fatah movement and Hamas, which won elections in January. |
| Middle East peace negotiators are insisting on recognition of Israel. | Middle East peace negotiators are insisting on recognition of Israel. |
| Much international aid to the Palestinians was cut off when Hamas took power. | Much international aid to the Palestinians was cut off when Hamas took power. |
| The BBC's Jon Leyne in Jerusalem says recognition of Israel is the crucial issue that has so far deadlocked negotiations over forming the government. | |
| And with conditions steadily deteriorating in the West Bank and Gaza, our correspondent says, the question now is whether all sides want to find a compromise, a form of words, or whether this is going to be an issue continuing to block all political progress. | |
| UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned on Thursday that failure to resolve the Middle East conflict is damaging Security Council credibility. | UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned on Thursday that failure to resolve the Middle East conflict is damaging Security Council credibility. |
| 'Olive branch' | 'Olive branch' |
| Mr Abbas said he re-affirmed the historic statements of mutual recognition made by then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993. | Mr Abbas said he re-affirmed the historic statements of mutual recognition made by then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993. |
| I simply want tomorrow to be better than today, I want Palestine to be independent and sovereign - do not let the olive branch fall from my hand Mahmoud AbbasPalestinian leader UN General Assembly at-a-glance | I simply want tomorrow to be better than today, I want Palestine to be independent and sovereign - do not let the olive branch fall from my hand Mahmoud AbbasPalestinian leader UN General Assembly at-a-glance |
| "These two letters contain a reciprocal recognition between the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] and Israel, reject violence and call for negotiations to reach a permanent settlement with the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel," he said. | "These two letters contain a reciprocal recognition between the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] and Israel, reject violence and call for negotiations to reach a permanent settlement with the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel," he said. |
| Mr Abbas said the unity government would also commit itself to imposing security and order, ending the phenomenon of multiple militias, indiscipline and chaos. | Mr Abbas said the unity government would also commit itself to imposing security and order, ending the phenomenon of multiple militias, indiscipline and chaos. |
| These commitments should lead to the resumption of withheld aid, Mr Abbas added. | These commitments should lead to the resumption of withheld aid, Mr Abbas added. |
| But Ahmed Youssef, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, said Hamas would not join a unity government if recognising Israel was a condition. | But Ahmed Youssef, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, said Hamas would not join a unity government if recognising Israel was a condition. |
| "The national unity government does not recognise Israel in its political programme," he said. | "The national unity government does not recognise Israel in its political programme," he said. |
| "The government and the Hamas movement will be against recognising Israel. Our position to solve the crisis is a 10-year truce which will be good for stability and prosperity." | "The government and the Hamas movement will be against recognising Israel. Our position to solve the crisis is a 10-year truce which will be good for stability and prosperity." |
| The Hamas government has rejected the 1993 agreements, leading to much of the Palestinians' international aid being cut off when they took power earlier this year. | The Hamas government has rejected the 1993 agreements, leading to much of the Palestinians' international aid being cut off when they took power earlier this year. |
| A national reconciliation document drawn up in June as the basis for the new government calls for progress towards a Palestinian state living alongside Israel. But it does not explicitly recognise the Jewish state. | A national reconciliation document drawn up in June as the basis for the new government calls for progress towards a Palestinian state living alongside Israel. But it does not explicitly recognise the Jewish state. |
| 'Emotional charge' | 'Emotional charge' |
| Echoing Arafat's address to the UN in 1974, Mr Abbas said this moment represented an olive branch of opportunity. | Echoing Arafat's address to the UN in 1974, Mr Abbas said this moment represented an olive branch of opportunity. |
| "I come to you bearing the wounds of a people who seek to live a normal life... not be victims of the cruelty of history," he said. | "I come to you bearing the wounds of a people who seek to live a normal life... not be victims of the cruelty of history," he said. |
| "I simply want tomorrow to be better than today. I want Palestine to be independent and sovereign... Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." | "I simply want tomorrow to be better than today. I want Palestine to be independent and sovereign... Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." |
| His comments came as the Security Council met to discuss the Middle East conflict in an attempt to get the peace process back on track. | His comments came as the Security Council met to discuss the Middle East conflict in an attempt to get the peace process back on track. |
| Mr Annan told the assembled ministers that peace between a new Palestinian state and a secure Israel remained distant and ill-defined. | Mr Annan told the assembled ministers that peace between a new Palestinian state and a secure Israel remained distant and ill-defined. |
| "Like no other conflict, the Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world," he said. | "Like no other conflict, the Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world," he said. |
| "And our continued failure to resolve this conflict calls into question the legitimacy and the effectiveness of this council itself." | "And our continued failure to resolve this conflict calls into question the legitimacy and the effectiveness of this council itself." |