Militants mull role offered by Arafat
Militants mull role offered by Arafat

Hamas refuses to limit attacks

By Dan Ephron, Globe Correspondent, 6/3/2002

JERUSALEM - The Islamic militant group Hamas, which was behind some of the deadliest suicide attacks against Israel in the past 20 months, is considering an offer to join Yasser Arafat's government but is demanding that the Palestinian leader first adopt sweeping reforms, a top member of the group said.

Officials close to Arafat confirmed that the offer had been made and said negotiations were underway. But they added that many obstacles stood in the way of a power-sharing agreement with Hamas.

Arafat, facing mounting pressure from Palestinians to clean up his administration and end years of alleged graft and mismanagement, has promised to appoint a new Cabinet and order presidential and parliamentary elections.

Incorporating Hamas, which has remained on the political sidelines for the past eight years, untainted by allegations of government corruption, could help his waning credibility with his own people. But it could also test already strained relations with the United States and Israel, which want him to crack down on extremists.

Three other militant groups have already refused to participate in his government, but Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin agreed to negotiate with Arafat's representatives.

''He suggested we have a share in the government and in the reform process,'' said Ismail Abu Shanab, a leading Hamas activist, in an interview from the Gaza Strip.

''We're drafting a reform program, and we'll present it to Arafat,'' Abu Shanab said. ''If he accepts it, we might be willing to join the government, but I don't believe he will accept it.''

He said that a top member of Arafat's Fatah faction, Zacharia al-Agha, had visited Yassin's home last week in Gaza to discuss terms for power sharing, but that no agreement was reached.

Another Hamas leader said the group would give Arafat its response by the end of the week.

An Israeli official fumed at the report, saying an agreement with Hamas would prove that Arafat, far from trying to subdue radicals in the West Bank and Gaza, was operating with them in tandem.

''The minute he goes with Hamas, you can forget about any kind of real reform,'' said Ra'anan Gissin, the media adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. ''Hamas will demand the lowest common denominator, which is a continuation of the current terrorism and violence.''

Palestinians have little to show for an uprising against Israel that has raged since September 2000. Prospects for statehood have been set back, and the economy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is ravaged.

In the aftermath of Israel's broad West Bank offensive in April, Palestinians are criticizing Arafat more openly than ever and calling for changes in his administration. One top Cabinet minister, Nabil Amr, resigned last month, accusing Arafat of mismanaging negotiations with Israel and the finances of his own Palestinian Authority.

Israel and the United States are also pressing for reforms, but their focus has been on reshuffling Arafat's security agencies to ensure that they are not involved in attacks on the Jewish state.

Abu Shanab said Hamas wants to head off any move that would limit attacks against Israel. The group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in bombings and shootings over the years, also wants Palestinians outside the West Bank and Gaza to share in the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

At least twice in the past, Arafat has tried to incorporate Hamas into his administration. If successful, Palestinian analysts say, the move could moderate the group and bring its military wing under the control of a central authority.

''I think if Hamas joins, it means driving them towards restraint and not radicalization,'' said Ziad Abu Amr, a leading Palestinian lawmaker involved in previous mediation between Hamas and Arafat's administration. ''It will be good for internal order and for the credibility of the Palestinian leadership.''

Amr said the toughest problem would be formulating a collective policy toward Israel, because Hamas would insist on continuing the ''armed struggle'' while Arafat would prefer to leave the matter unstated.

Arafat, who says he wants a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel, would also insist on leaving the door open to renewed peace talks with the Jewish state, though contacts have foundered for the past year.

Hamas, which rejects any conciliation with Israel, forms the biggest opposition group to Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Its support among Palestinians has fluctuated over the past year, but generally hovers around 15 percent.

Smaller groups that have rejected Arafat's offer to join his Cabinet include the Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

While foreign mediators shuttled between Israel and the West Bank yesterday in a bid to lower the level of violence and put peacekeeping back on course, Israeli troops continued to push into Palestinian areas where they said militants were plotting attacks.

The army said soldiers discovered a large bomb factory yesterday in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank town of Nablus. They also arrested about 60 Palestinians in a broad sweep of the area that went into its third day.

Arafat has held talks with US Middle East envoy William Burns and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in recent days. CIA Director George J. Tenet is expected in the region today.

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 6/3/2002.

© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.