US and EU want Palestinians to explain terror stance

Palestinian leaders have been asked by the US and EU to be more clear on the new coalition government’s stance on violence against Israel.

Islamic Hamas militants and a Western-backed Palestinian president have formed a new government coalition in hopes of ending an international aid boycott.

However, the coalition’s political platform announced on Saturday stops short of meeting the terms of international donors and would-be peacemakers: that Palestinian leaders renounce violence, accept Israel’s right to exist and abide by previous agreements the Palestinians made with Israel and others.

The platform makes some rhetorical bows toward satisfying the demands, but also refers to resistance “in all forms” to Israeli occupation. Israeli officials read that as a coded endorsement of suicide bombings or other violence.

“I’m not going to try to interpret what the right of resistance means,” said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after a meeting with European diplomats. “But I’ll tell you it doesn’t sound very good to me when one talks about ’all forms’ of resistance”.

The so-called Quartet of Middle East peacemakers – the US, European Union, Russia and the United Nations – agreed yesterday to wait and see whether the new Palestinian government conformed to its demands before deciding how to react, said the EU external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

“The Quartet has confirmed what I always also repeated, that we will have to judge the government by its words and also by its action,” said Ferrero-Waldner, who was among the EU officials in Washington to meet Rice.

Ferrero-Waldner did not elaborate on what exactly was agreed during the conference call – the first Quartet discussion since the new Palestinian government’s formation – but she said the Quartet would release a statement today outlining their agreements.

A senior US State Department official said Washington was not satisfied with the Palestinian stance because it did not meet all the requirements.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh should explain the reference to “all forms” of resistance, Rice said. “Do you mean the right of resistance by violence?” she asked.

The US has held a hard line against Hamas since the military and political organisation won Palestinian legislative elections more than a year ago, but some European and other governments have long signalled discomfort with the strict policy.

Ferrero-Waldner said the EU would continue limited direct aid to Palestinians for three months, while a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the bloc would maintain its funding policy and continue contact with non-Hamas officials.