Road map under threat after Hamas breaks off ceasefire talks
Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Saturday June 7, 2003
The Guardian
Hamas delivered a blow to the Palestinian prime minister's attempts to end attacks on Israel yesterday by breaking off all talks hours before a fresh round of negotiations aimed at establishing a ceasefire.
The Islamic fundamentalist group also issued a hard-hitting statement denouncing this week's summit between President George Bush, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, as an American attempt to dictate and impose peace terms on the Palestinians. Hamas called on the Palestinian people and the Arab world to unite against the US-led "road map" embraced by Mr Abbas.
The move was unexpected, even though the Islamic fundamentalist group, with its principal power base in the Gaza Strip, had said it would continue the armed struggle after Israeli pledges to establish a Palestinian state at this week's summit in Aqaba.
For weeks Mr Abbas, who is better known as Abu Mazen, has said he expected to win agreement for a ceasefire from Hamas and other militant groups such as Islamic Jihad.
But Hamas objected to his recognition of Israel and de facto surrender of claim to land within Israel's 1967 borders.
"The dialogue is over. Abu Mazen has gone too far with the Israelis," said Abdel-Aziz al-Rantisi, a Hamas leader in Gaza. "He gave away to Sharon and Bush what the Palestinians said they would never do, so how can he claim to represent the Palestinian people?"
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