Palestinian government must recognise Israel, says Solana

The Palestinian unity government being formed by Hamas and Fatah must clearly state that it recognises Israel, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said today.

"There are many ways whereby you can express the recognition of Israel," Solana said.

"I am not going to define what is the manner that would be the most appropriate, that's for them to decide, but in any case it has to be sufficiently clear that statement can be read and not only imagined."

Solana spoke in an interview before an EU summit where French President Jacques Chirac was expected to press other European leaders to support the Palestinian efforts to form a coalition government.

Officials at the two-day summit were also expected to discuss Iran's nuclear programme as the UN Security Council consults on additional sanctions after Tehran ignored a new ultimatum to stop uranium enrichment last month.

Asked if the UN should impose tougher sanctions, Solana said the international response to continued defiance "logically will be an increase in the pressure on Iran".

Chirac said last month the power-sharing deal between Hamas and Fatah was "a first step toward the full application of the conditions" set by the EU, US and others for the restoration of aid to the Palestinian government.

Those conditions include recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and respect for previous peace agreements.

The agreement struck last month in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, does not explicitly recognise Israel. However, it does pledge to "respect" past agreements and Palestinian officials have argued that should be enough to end the freeze on aid imposed after Hamas won elections last year.

Solana said the movement toward unity among the Palestinians was "a good decision" following outbreaks of fighting between Fatah and Hamas militants. He said Palestinian unity was also positive for Israel, but stressed that the EU would have to wait to see what the power-sharing deal would mean in practice before making any decisions.

"These agreements have to be implemented," he said. "We'll have to make the final judgment … when they are implemented."

Despite the Mecca agreement, Fatah and Hamas have failed to agree on the formation of a unity government with differences focused on who would be interior minister, controlling security forces.

The power-sharing deal is an attempt by the Palestinians to end the economic boycott which diverted aid from the Hamas-led government.

Although a new World Bank report says international aid increased slightly in 2006, much of that was in direct humanitarian payments.

The withdrawal of international support for the government coincided with a drop of at least 8% in the Palestinians' per capita gross domestic product last year.