<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Real peace only possible &#8216;if Hamas on&nbsp;board&#8217;]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>Published today 17:24</p>
<p><img src="https://i2.wp.com/www.maannews.net/images/345x230/132592_345x230.jpg" alt="" /><br />
President Mahmoud Abbas (left) speaks with Hamas leader Khalid Mash&#8217;al after talks in Cairo in May 2011. A lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is only possible if Hamas is involved, a group of former top statesmen and diplomats said in a letter made public on Friday. [AFP/Hamas Press Office/File]</p>
<p>JERUSALEM (AFP) &#8212; A lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is only possible if Hamas is involved, a group of former top statesmen and diplomats said in a letter made public on Friday.</p>
<p>In the letter, which is addressed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, 24 former international figures warned against the dangers of rejecting a recent Palestinian unity deal aimed at ending years of bad blood between the secular Fatah faction and Gaza&#8217;s Hamas rulers.</p>
<p>Israel slammed the deal as a &#8220;great victory for terrorism&#8221; in a move which found echoes in Washington, with US President Barack Obama describing it as &#8220;an enormous obstacle to peace.&#8221;</p>
<p>But the letter argued that lasting peace would only be possible with a unified Palestinian leadership, which made reconciliation &#8220;a prerequisite&#8221; for ending the conflict.</p>
<p>&#8220;Reconciliation is&#8230; a prerequisite for achieving the two-state solution. It is not an obstacle to it,&#8221; it said, taking aim at remarks by Israel&#8217;s premier Benjamin Netanyahu in which he urged President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas to chose between peace with Hamas or peace with Israel.</p>
<p>&#8220;Asking Fatah to choose between making peace with Hamas and making peace with Israel presents a false choice: a lasting peace with Israel is only possible if Hamas is on board,&#8221; it said.</p>
<p>&#8220;As former international leaders and peace negotiators, we have learnt first-hand that achieving a durable peace requires an inclusive approach.&#8221;</p>
<p>Under terms of the deal signed in early May, the two factions will work together to form a caretaker government of politically independent figures who will govern until elections can be held at some point before May 2012.</p>
<p>It was &#8220;imperative&#8221; that Washington and Brussels &#8220;constructively engage with the transitional government as well as with the Palestinian leadership that results from elections next year,&#8221; they wrote, warning that failure to do so could have far-reaching consequences.</p>
<p>It warned against repeating past mistakes, recalling a decision by Washington and Brussels to boycott Hamas politically and financially after it secured a surprise victory in legislative elections in 2006.</p>
<p>&#8220;In hindsight, those policies were a major setback for the peace process,&#8221; it said.</p>
<p>&#8220;If Palestinian reconciliation is undermined, it will throw the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into an even deeper impasse, with dramatic consequences for all parties and the international community at large.&#8221;</p>
<p>Rather than being a threat to Israel, the unity deal could enhance its security by helping &#8220;consolidate a ceasefire&#8221; along the Gaza border, and even help towards securing the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Gaza militants in 2006 and is still being held there.</p>
<p>Among the signatories are four former EU prime ministers, including Italy&#8217;s Massimo D&#8217;Alema and Denmark&#8217;s Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and 11 ex-foreign ministers, including Hubert Vedrine of France and Gareth Evans of Australia.</p>
<p>Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and veteran Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi also signed the letter.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=395497">Source</a></p>
]]></html><thumbnail_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/132592_345x230.jpg?fit=440%2C330]]></thumbnail_url><thumbnail_width><![CDATA[345]]></thumbnail_width><thumbnail_height><![CDATA[254]]></thumbnail_height></oembed>