Top Hamas leader rejects Abbas referendum plan

MALAYSIA - Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar today rejected as a waste of time and money a referendum President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to call unless Hamas changes its policy toward Israel.

Zahar is a senior Hamas leader and his remarks were the Islamic militant group's clearest rejection yet of a referendum, underlining the widening rift between Abbas' Fatah faction and Hamas, the governing party since it won elections in January.

"Nobody will recognise Israel. There is no need for a referendum," Zahar, reiterating Hamas' long-held policy towards the Jewish state, said during a visit to Malaysia for a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.

"We are not afraid of a referendum but it's a waste of time and money," he said.

In violence in the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian militants were killed in a gunbattle with Israeli troops which was followed by a helicopter missile strike, as they attempted to launch makeshift rockets into Israel, witnesses said.

The militants were all members of Islamic Jihad, witnesses said. Five other civilians were also wounded in the incident; two ambulance staff, two radio reporters and a civilian.

The Israeli army confirmed details of the incident and said it was the first time troops had clashed with Palestinian militants while inside the Gaza Strip since withdrawing from the territory last August after 28 years of occupation.

The troops returned to their base in Israel after the clash ended, the army said.

The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority is cash-strapped because the United States and its allies have cut off aid to the body to pressure Hamas to renounce violence and recognise Israel. Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Last week, Abbas set a 10-day deadline for Hamas to accept his proposal that the Palestinians agree to a peace settlement if Israel withdraws from all of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem, occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.

Abbas said if Hamas refused to back the proposal he would call a referendum on it in July.

He opened talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday with Hamas militants and other factions, trying to persuade them to accept the proposal.

But Hamas' official representative did not attend today's session, saying he was blocked by Israeli checkpoints. More meetings are expected throughout the week.

Hamas has scorned Abbas' peace proposal, which was drawn up by Palestinian leaders held in Israeli jails.

Abbas, a moderate, was elected by a landslide in early 2005 in a presidential ballot that Hamas did not contest.

The prisoners' plan, based on previous Arab peace initiatives, calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel and for Israel to withdraw from all occupied territory.

A Fatah spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, questioned why Hamas was so concerned about putting the proposal to a popular vote.

"They claim they have a majority in the streets behind their political agenda so why is there fear and panic about facing the referendum," Abu Khoussa said.

The peace proposal carries weight because the prisoners who drew it up, jailed for violence against Israelis, are regarded as heroes by many Palestinians.

Israel has not responded to the plan and has vowed to set its borders with Palestinian territory unilaterally unless peace talks can be resumed within months.

To solve the Palestinian Authority's financial problems resulting from the halt in aid and Israel's freezing of customs and tax revenues, Zahar proposed every Muslim in the world donate US$1 ($1.60) "so we can raise US$1.3 billion per year".

He said donations should be deposited in the Cairo-based Arab League's accounts and "we will find a way to bring the money to our people".

Many banks have so far refused to transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority because of intense US pressure.

- REUTERS