Fatah/Hamas Agreement Lasts 24 Hours--Would Peace Treaty With Israel Last Any Longer?

Never mind the verbal agreements--just how much is an agreement actually signed by Abbas' Fatah worth? Not surprisingly, it is not worth much at all:

'Signing of Yemeni proposal a mixup'

Top aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday distanced themselves from a Yemeni plan outlining a path to reconciliation with Hamas movement, and one said an Abbas envoy only signed the document because of a mixup.

Under the Yemeni proposal, signed Sunday, Abbas's Fatah movement and Hamas would agree in principle to unite in a single Palestinian government. However, in several days of talks in Yemen, the bitter rivals failed to resolve the crucial question of how they should share power.

So just how much is Abbas' word worth these days?

But that's OK, because it's all Vice President Dick Cheney's fault. I guess not we know the real reason for his Middle East trip:

A senior Abbas confidant, chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei, said Monday that al-Ahmed signed because of a mixup. Al-Ahmed called Abbas' office repeatedly to get guidance, but Abbas was meeting at the time with US Vice President Dick Cheney, and al-Ahmed went ahead and signed, Qureia said.

What was most interesting was this piece:

"Hamas is trying to lead us to endless talks without backing away from its military coup," aide Yasser Abed Rabbo told the Voice of Palestine radio. "Hamas is giving no signs of doing so. On the contrary, it gives more signs of repression and taking over more Palestinian Authority institutions in Gaza."

Imagine, apparently Hamas is the new Israel of Gaza, with Fatah now demanding concessions from Hamas instead of just talk while condemning Hamas repression (dare we say 'occupation') in Gaza.

Fatah seems to have a limited repertoire.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Israel and Abbas.