[Dr. Aaron Lerner – IMRA: Possibly rhetorical question soon to be voiced by Hamas: If “moderate” Mahmoud Abbas is considered the hero of the West and simply a fantastic all around guy even though he calls for turning guns toward Israel and only opposes terror attacks if and when he beleives they do do not serve Palestinian interests, doesn’t this set such a low enough standard for what is considered to be “respect” for PLO agreements such that anything Haniyeh does is OK?]

Mecca – Ma’an exclusive – Fatah and Hamas have signed the Mecca agreement. The media advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil ‘Amr, read the text of the agreement and the letter of assignment to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

The following came in the agreement text:

. Assuring the prohibition of Palestinian bloodshed and the assurance of national unity to achieve the legitimate aims of the Palestinian people.

. Agreeing on counting the language of dialogue as the basis for solving all conflicts between brothers.

. Agreeing on establishing a unity government and to start taking constitutional procedures to its dedication immediately.

. Agreeing on proceeding in the procedures of reform of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) based on the Cairo agreements and the Damascus announcement.

. Assuring the principle of political partnership on the basis of political pluralism.

Signed in Holy Mecca on 21 Muharam, 1428 in the hegira (Islamic) calendar [8th of February, 2007 A.D.]

The presidential advisor, Nabil ‘Amr, also read the text of the letter of assignment that President ‘Abbas will send to Prime Minister Haniyeh. The letter said:

“I call on you within the coming period, in accordance with the Basic Law, to form the national unity government.

“I also call on you as a head of the future government to commit to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people and to keep their acquisitions as confessed by the successive national councils and the Arab League’s decisions, and to respect the PLO agreements”.

President Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech in which he emphasized the complete commitment to the agreement. He also praised the distinguished efforts of the Saudis in completing the agreement.

The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Khalid Mash’al, also gave a speech in which he assured the willingness of both sides to implement the agreement and cast aside disagreement. He also promised the Palestinian people and God to be committed to what has been agreed upon, and he praised the significant role of the Saudi monarch in achieving the agreement.

Prime Minister Haniyeh gave a speech in which he praised the significant efforts of Saudi Arabia in achieving the agreement of reconciliation between brothers and to put an end to the difficult and hard days.

For his part, the Saudi monarch, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, congratulated the Palestinian leaders for achieving the agreement and for establishing a national unity government.

From his side, Fatah spokesman Maher Miqdad, who took part in the Fatah delegation in the Mecca dialogue, said that the subject of activating the PLO had featured in the discussions and it was agreed to continue the Cairo dialogue and the Damascus announcement. The participation of independent figures and the naming of Fatah and Hamas deputies will be completed within one month, he said, and this will be carried out in Gaza not in Mecca.

Miqdad also stressed the need to follow up the aftermath of the bloody internal fighting. He said that it is important to study the causes of the fighting while also dealing with all its consequences without leaving any dispute unresolved in order to avoid any return to the previous turmoil.

He said that all parties who signed the agreement declared their commitment to accurately following up this issue.

Miqdad also noted the need to respect the people who suffered during the internal clashes.

“It is not possible to summarize the subject of a political agreement without looking at the events. that happened previously,” he said.

He added, “Some crimes. we have to deal with at higher levels, taking into consideration that there are lots of wounds and sufferings that are hard to ignore.” He said that the situation required “a variety of initiatives by President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], or even by the head of government and factional leaders, as well as the tribal leaders.”

Source: www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=19372

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