Abbas warns major ME peace Summit could fail
Middle East Desk Report

RAMALLAH (West Bank)—Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned Tuesday that a major Middle East peace summit called by US President George W. Bush could fail without adequate preparation.
“The conference should be well prepared in order to succeed,” Abbas told a joint news conference with Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in the West Bank political capital of Ramallah.
“We must be able to reach a clear, unambigious framework agreement not open to different interpretations,” he said. “We are making every effort to come to the conference prepared. What we do not want, is to go with vague declarations leading to a resounding failure,” the Palestinian president said.
Abbas, whose remit is effectively limited to the West Bank after radical rival Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip nearly three montbs ago, also called for Arab countries to attend the conference, widely expected in November.
“We insist that all concerned parties participate directly or indirectly. That means that countries with occupied lands, countries in the region or those that support the peace process should attend,” he said. The president condemned Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza as “damaging to peace.”
Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert — who have been at odds over what exactly they want to achieve beforehand — are scheduled to meet several more times to find common ground before the summit.
The Palestinians have long demanded a detailed framework agreement on core issues such as Jerusalem, borders and refugees, while Israel has talked about a more vague declaration of principles.
Men keep watch from windows, others guard the street as members of Fatah gather discreetly at a comrade’s home in the Gaza Strip to discuss the movement’s fate since Hamas seized control of the enclave. They dominated Palestinian politics for decades under Yasser Arafat and are led by his successor as president, Mahmoud Abbas.
But in Gaza, away from their West Bank power base, Fatah members feel like a clandestine opposition after the rout of Abbas’s forces in June by the Islamists of Hamas. Of the 10 men meeting last week, most said they had been detained by Hamas this summer. None would be identified. Three said they had already been tortured — a feature of mutual recriminations between the factions over the past three months.
Yet there are signs, including public shows of defiance in the past two weeks, that Fatah is regrouping to challenge the new status quo in Gaza. It is a challenge Hamas leaders say they will resist if it resorts to force. With anger running deep on both sides, the potential for renewed bloodletting is clear. Though talk at the clandestine meeting dwelt on the reverses Fatah has suffered, Fatah leaders talk publicly of a comeback. “Fatah will rise again, stronger than ever,” said Adel al-Najar from Khan Younis. “Fatah was born to be victorious.”
Saying that he himself had been among some 100 Fatah members detained since Hamas seized Gaza in several days of fighting, Najar said: “Fatah has become a de facto banned organization.
“You’re not allowed to raise a flag. You’re not allowed to play nationalist songs,” he added, though in fact, yellow Fatah flags have become increasingly commonplace in Gaza, including at open-air weekly prayer meetings held on the past two Fridays.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, accused Fatah leaders in the West Bank of planning to destabilize and “uproot” the Islamist party which won last year’s parliamentary election:
“We have concrete information about orders and money given to people in order to form armed cells in Gaza with the aim of reestablishing chaos and anarchy,” he said, while stressing that Fatah members who eschewed violence were free to operate.
Explaining the detention of Fatah activists, he added: “We summoned some of those involved who provided information and they were later released after they pledged not to act on any such orders they had received.” But, he warned: “Anyone proven to have been involved in provoking chaos will naturally pay the price.”