MIDDLE EAST:AS US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice began yesterday's mission to relaunch negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, evidence emerged that she had approved efforts by Fatah forces to oust Hamas from power.
The attempt, described in an article, "The Gaza Bombshell", by David Rose, was published in Vanity Fair and picked up by Arab television channels.
Dr Rice came away from meeting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah yesterday without a public commitment by him to resume peace talks he froze over Israel's Gaza offensive. "We look forward to the resumption of those negotiations as soon as possible," she told a joint news conference.
Quizzed during a stopover in Cairo, Dr Rice said she had not seen the article but justified arming Fatah by arguing that Hamas is being armed by Iran. Therefore, "if Hamas gets armed by the Iranians and nobody helps to improve the security capabilities of the legitimate Palestinian Authority security forces, that's not a very good situation". She said the US would continue to bolster the authority's forces.
In the article, Rose reveals the US was determined to topple Hamas, which formed a government in early 2006. On October 4th, Dr Rice told Mr Abbas to halt efforts to form a unity government, dissolve the Hamas cabinet, instal an emergency regime, and call fresh elections. Mr Abbas stalled.
Rose cites a memo handed to Fatah officials by Jake Walles, US consul general in Jerusalem. It stated: "Hamas should be given a clear choice, with a clear deadline . . . they either accept a new government that meets the Quartet principles, or they reject it. The consequences of Hamas's decision should also be clear: if Hamas does not agree within the prescribed time, you should make clear your intention to declare a state of emergency and form an emergency government explicitly committed to that platform."
(The Quartet - the US, EU, UN and Russia - demanded that Hamas recognise Israel, end violence and accept agreements reached by Israel and the authority.)
Mr Abbas was told to strengthen security forces in case of a Hamas rebellion, promised material and political backing, and urged to bring in Muhammad Dahlan, a former head of security in Gaza. The US banked on Fatah's 35,000 men in Gaza, but they were demoralised. US co-ordinator Lieut Gen Keith Dayton told Mr Dahlan: "We need to reform the Palestinian security apparatus. But we also need to build up your forces to take on Hamas."
When Congress held up funds, Dr Rice asked the rulers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to finance and train Fatah forces. Israel approved weapons shipments.
Since Fatah's Gaza forces were no match for Hamas's 12,000 fighters, Mr Dahlan waged a "dirty war" against Hamas. But fearing civil conflict, Mr Abbas agreed to form a unity government.
