Negotiation Without Giving up Violence (Palestinian-Report: Policies‪)‬

Now that the sixth Fatah congress is over and a new Palestinian leadership has been elected, the Palestinians appear to have two distinct policies in one: The policy of negotiation with Israel adopted by the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, and the armed struggle policy adopted by the militant Islamic Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip. The one other policy, which they both have to accept and observe, at least temporarily, is non-violence. Although Hamas tends to support armed struggle as the way to liberate Palestinian land from Israeli occupation, it has abstained from violence for nearly a year. The last major confrontation was the three-week war in December and January. The sixth Fatah congress, which upheld the principle of negotiating peace with Israel as the way to establish an independent Palestinian state, did not rule out other ways to put an end to the occupation. Majed Kayyali, a Palestinian writer, said in an article published in Beirut's AN NAHAR on Aug. 27, that it has become clear that the Palestinian movement featured two distinct policies: Negotiation, adopted by the Palestinian Authority and resistance (armed struggle), adopted by Hamas. Arab and non-Arab leaders have urged the Palestinians to unite their ranks if they wanted effective support for the Palestinian cause.