MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's political deal with Hamas and its positive reception from the EU drew a hostile response yesterday from Israel, worried its coalition against the militant group could splinter.
A senior Israeli official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the agreement between the moderate president and the governing Islamist group called into question Mr Abbas's ability to act as a serious negotiating partner.
The official criticised EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner for commending the deal, which was unveiled on Tuesday just ahead of the Israeli military offensive into Gaza.
"We think that the statements made in Europe by Ferrero-Waldner that this is a step in the right direction are completely misguided and do not reflect the reality of this document," the Israeli official said.
The official said Israel raised its concerns in a meeting yesterday with ambassadors from six European countries. "We are concerned about the European reaction," the official said. "We are concerned this will be a tsunami and will take over."
The deal, which has yet to be signed by faction leaders, was based on a document penned by Palestinian prisoners that implicitly recognised Israel by accepting a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
But under the agreement on Tuesday, Hamas said it rejected any suggestion it accepted Israel's existence.
Some analysts said Hamas's goal was in part to get the EU to break with the United States, in order to weaken the aid boycott that has pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of collapse.
"I don't think it's going to work in the sense that you're going to see a policy reversal by Brussels. But advocates of engagement can now claim that there has been movement by Hamas that deserves a second look," said Mouin Rabbani, senior Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group.
Tensions between the United States and the European Union flared up earlier this month over the scope of an aid mechanism for the Palestinians that would bypass the Hamas-led government.
The EU wanted payments to be made to a broader range of government workers, but Washington objected, diplomats said.