Abbas running into trouble selling unity deal

By Wafa Amr

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is having trouble persuading Western powers to lift sanctions on a unity government with Hamas that does not fully meet their demands, officials said on Tuesday.

The officials, some of whom were dispatched by Abbas to lobby Western policymakers to back the power-sharing government, said they found them to generally feel the deal did not go far enough toward recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting interim peace deals as demanded by the "Quartet" of Middle East mediators.

"I am finding it hard to sell the agreement," said one of the aides dispatched by Abbas. "Some are hesitant, others are unconvinced, others still say they have to wait and see what the Quartet will decide in their February 21 meeting."

After meeting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and other officials, another senior Abbas aide, Nabil Amr, described the general reaction to the Saudi-brokered deal as positive but said they made no commitments.

"They told me until now they are not sure that the Mecca deal is close to meeting the Quartet's conditions. However, they said they consider it a positive development and the issue deserves reconsideration," Amr told Reuters from Germany, where he was meeting the foreign minister.

The unity agreement, signed by the ruling Hamas movement and Abbas's Fatah faction last week, makes no explicit commitment to recognize Israel or renounce violence.

A letter from Abbas reappointing Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as prime minister contained a vague call to Hamas to "abide" by Palestinian and Arab resolutions that include recognition of Israel, and to "respect" past agreements and international law.

Western diplomats said the Quartet -- composed of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- was unlikely to make any major decisions on lifting sanctions that have cut off aid until the unity government takes office and begins implementing its policies, a process that could take weeks.

"There is a consensus that no decision will be taken too quickly," said a Western diplomat involved in the deliberations.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has yet to pass judgment in public on the Mecca deal, aides said the Jewish state was considering suspending contacts with the moderate Abbas if the new government does not meet Quartet demands.

Israeli officials "believe Abbas has opted to make peace with Hamas, not with Israel", a Palestinian official said.

A harsh Israeli response could short-circuit U.S. efforts to revive long-stalled peace talks through Abbas, who will hold a three-way summit on February 19 with Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

That summit had been expected to explore the contours of a Palestinian state but officials from all sides say the discussions will focus largely on the unity deal.

BACK TO SAUDI ARABIA

"If Abbas fails to convince the world to lift the sanctions and his people feel no difference with or without a unity government, he is in a difficult position," a senior Palestinian official said. "He has no option then but to turn back to Saudi Arabia and to the Arabs and tell them: The ball is now in your court."