Hamas in Control?

A new Palestinian parliament dominated by the militant group Hamas was installed Saturday. Immediately, President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas lawmakers set out on a collision course over the need to honor existing agreements with Israel and conduct negotiations to achieve Palestinian statehood.

In a speech at his presidential headquarters here, where some lawmakers gathered for the swearing-in, Mr. Abbas warned the new legislature that it could not disavow agreements and commitments by the Palestinian leadership dating back to the late 1980's.

"To reach a peaceful and just solution, we must resume negotiations according to the international and Arab initiatives," Mr. Abbas said.
But in Gaza City, where the rest of the legislature convened because Israel has refused to allow lawmakers to travel to the West Bank, Hamas leaders promptly made their opposition clear.

"There were many points of disagreement," said Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas leader who is expected to become the group's candidate for prime minister. Mr. Abbas "was elected according to his program, and we were elected according to a different program."

Hamas will also have to deal with Mr. Abbas and his defeated Fatah movement because they appear intent on preventing Hamas from reversing longstanding policies in the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. Abbas devoted much of his speech to recounting the history of United Nations resolutions and international peace plans that call for negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement and the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

In particular, he cited the 1993 Oslo accords, an interim agreement with Israel that was the basis for talks that ultimately collapsed after the Palestinian uprising began in 2000.

"We have accepted and respected the right of every individual, group or political faction to voice its objections about the Oslo accords, but we have not and will not accept any questioning of the accords' legitimacy," Mr. Abbas said. "Indeed, from the hour the accords were endorsed, they became a part of reality to which we remain committed."

Hamas says the years of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority were futile. It has generally abided by a truce for the past year but says it will not lay down its arms.

Rawhi Fattouh, the departing speaker of parliament, said that Saturday's parliamentary session made the battle lines clear.

"This is the most critical point now in our relations," Mr. Fattouh, a Fatah member, said in Ramallah. "The crisis has already started on the political level."

Lets change the reality on the human level. LETS ROLL