Hamas leader plays to win

[Violet_Crumble]

Khalid Mishal has abandoned his bunker but not his hardline anti-Israel rhetoric, writes chief correspondent Paul McGeough in Doha.

The Doha skyline is like a woman's dressing table - a clutter of gaudy edifices like so many perfume bottles.

For a while Hamas chief Khalid Mishal and his team operated from a floor perched high in one of the ''bottles'' but when he agrees to talk, on a mild evening early last month, his new office is revealed as a villa out in the suburbs.

Visitors to the marbled villa that has become the leadership office-in-exile for the Palestinian resistance movement are relieved of all bags and baggage at the door. Some time later, the bags are returned - minus mobile phones.

Mishal enters, wearing his signature pale-blue shirt, open-necked under a dark jacket - prompting a realisation that he is never seen in public in the traditional garb of Palestinian men - the dishdasha robe along with the keffiyeh headscarf that the late Yasser Arafat elevated to a global icon.

Mishal fingers a set of silver prayer beads and demonstrates an improving grasp of English - insisting that he be interviewed in Arabic but at times taking mischievous delight in quibbling over particular English words chosen by his translator.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/hamas-leader-plays-to-win-20130302-2fcxz.html

There's also an interview with Mishal here: http://www.theage.com.au/world/khalid-mishal-interview-20130304-2ffcn.html?rand=1362351829518

[Jefferson23]

1. Hamas offers Israel collaborators temporary amnesty

Week-long campaign offers reprieve from typically harsh punishment for working with Israel in exchange for apology and information.
By Jack Khoury | Mar.04, 2013 | 7:42 PM


The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is this week undertaking a new amnesty campaign for collaborators with Israel.

"The security services have given an explicit commitment not to harm anyone who takes the initiative to express remorse and they will not even be arrested other than for a series of meetings in total secrecy in exchange for information on how they were recruited and what information they have," Mohammed Lafi, who is thought to be one of the senior domestic security officials in the Gaza Strip, recently told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency.

This is not the first such effort by Hamas. In 2010, attempts were made to curb the number of Gazans working with Israeli authorities by granting amnesty to those who turned themselves in, expressed remorse for their deeds and agreed to meet with members of the security forces.

The number of collaborators in Gaza has declined for two reasons, Lafi said in the interview. The first, he said, is the deterrent effect of the iron-fisted punishment meted out to them, and the second is the opportunity for them to turn themselves in and repent for their deeds.

A collaborator who seeks to express regret at what he has done can approach any public figure, whether a member of parliament, a university lecturer or a sheikh at a mosque, Lafi explained. They in turn will refer the person to the security authorities for an initial investigation to examine the person's credibility.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-offers-israel-collaborators-temporary-amnesty.premium-1.507220

[Jefferson23]

2. Oren to Abbas: Unity with Hamas sets back peace

WASHINGTON – Israel’s top envoy in America warned Fatah leaders on Sunday against entering a national unity deal with Hamas, arguing that it would set back prospects for peace.

“We hope that [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas will not follow through on reconciliation with Hamas,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the US, during the opening plenary of the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in the US capital. “We see that very much as a game-blocker.”

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=305196

PA nabs 66 Hamas supporters as unity talks fail

Hamas announces that the PA has arrested 66 of its supporters in W. Bank including 32 former prisoners held by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested 66 Hamas supporters in the West Bank during the month of February, the Gaza-based Islamist movement announced Tuesday.

In a report, Hamas said that among those arrested were 32 former prisoners [held by Israel], three university students, a journalist and a teacher.

The report said that PA security forces also summoned another 38 Hamas supporters and leaders for interrogation.

Ten Hamas supporters were ordered remanded into custody despite court decisions to release them, the report said.

The arrests come as efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah appear to have failed.

Hamas said Tuesday that the reconciliation efforts failed because of US pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to refrain from reaching any agreement with the movement.

Salah Bardaweel, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, said that Abbas has "sold the reconciliation in return for an American smile."

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=305395

[azurnoir]

3. oh dear how long before we're hearing all about how

the PA is anti-human rights, suppressing Palestinians ect, of course OtOH if they did not do this then they'd be pro-terrorism, aiding and abetting those who want Israel destroyed

damned if they do damned if they don't

[Jefferson23]

4. The narrative is always a very narrow one for the Israeli government.

As if they have any intentions of willingly ending the occupation diplomatically regardless.

Hamas is a convenient boogey man.