Middle East News
Fatah: US to cover Mideast plight with Annapolis conference
By DPA
Nov 10, 2007, 10:04 GMT

Ramallah - The United States were trying to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with the Annapolis peace conference in response to their plight in Iraq and Afghanistan, a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement said Saturday.

'The US administration believes it can overcome its defeats in Iraq and Afghanistan by making some progress on the Palestinian cause,' Azzam al-Ahmad of Fatah said, adding he was pessimistic about the conference's success.

'The preparations for the conference are not promising and the indications say that the US will enter a new plight,' al-Ahmad added.

The Palestinians have often criticized the preparations for the conference, demanding more 'information and clarity' about the conference.

'The Americans are wrong when they think they can achieve something quickly and automatically with the conference - this is a silly way of thinking because the Americans did not do anything to secure their success,' al-Ahmad said.

He said the US did not do anything to support the implementation of the US-backed Road Map peace plan and President George W Bush's vision for two separate Israeli and Palestinian states.

Al-Ahmad meanwhile has slammed the rival Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip after taking it by force from pro-Abbas security services in June. He also condemned the rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza.

'What is going on in Gaza is not a resistance; it is a rebel and military parade. The military work involves face-to-face fighting, not firing missiles from a distance,' he said.

Al-Ahmad aimed his speech at Hamas, saying those who wanted to continue their resistance 'should stay away from political life and not run in the elections.'

'Hamas is hungry for power and plotting against the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO),' he continued. Al-Ahmad also criticized Hamas' suicide bombings inside Israel in the past, saying 'suicide has never been a resistance.'