Israel to lobby in UK and France against a Palestinian state

Ma'an, AFP – When Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu visits Britain and France this week, he will point to a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal as part of his fight to head off UN recognition of a Palestinian state.

Hours before leaving Israel, Netanyahu drove home his rejection of the deal, calling on President Mahmoud Abbas to "completely cancel" the agreement, which he said struck a "hard blow to the peace process."

The accord, signed on Tuesday, provides for the establishment of a transitional government formed of independents and leaves negotiations with Israel in the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Abbas.

But Netanyahu will tell his French and British counterparts that Israel cannot negotiate with the agreement in place, pointing in particular to Hamas' outspoken condemnation of the killing of Osama bin Laden this week.

"The agreement between Abu Mazen [Abbas] and Hamas deals a hard blow to the peace process," Netanyahu said on Tuesday during a meeting with former British prime minister Tony Blair.

"How can we make peace with a government when half of it calls for the destruction of Israel and glorifies the murderous Osama bin Laden?"

Israeli media reported Tuesday that Israeli embassies worldwide had been instructed to publicize Hamas's condemnation of the bin Laden killing, with one official saying Hamas's response "only strengthens Israel's position."

In Britain and France, Netanyahu may face a skeptical audience.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has cautiously welcomed the Fatah-Hamas rapprochement, though he warned that Britain would "judge everyone by their actions."

And analysts expect British Prime Minister David Cameron, who Netanyahu meets on Wednesday, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who he meets on Thursday, to listen politely to their guest but reserve immediate judgment.

"They have a lot on their plate in any case with regard to Libya and with regard to Syria," said Jonathan Spyer, research fellow in international relations at the Interdisciplinary Center near Tel Aviv.

"There's so much going on in the Middle East of real dramatic import that the endless dance of the Israelis and Palestinians is struggling a little bit to get the attention that it once perhaps deserved," he told AFP.

Netanyahu says he is working on a new peace initiative but has not revealed details. He is expected to show his hand during a US visit in May when he addresses a joint session of the US Congress.

Following the breakdown of direct peace talks last autumn, the Abbas administration ruling the West Bank adopted a diplomatic strategy aimed at securing UN recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinians are expected to seek such recognition at September's annual UN General Assembly.

Israel and the United States oppose such a move, arguing a real solution can only be reached through negotiations, and the Israeli leadership is seeking to build international opposition to head off the attempt.

Last month, however, France and Britain's UN envoys indicated that their governments would consider backing the Palestinian campaign as a way to relaunch the peace process.

Spyer sees no breakthrough for Netanyahu on this trip, but he does believe that drawing attention to the participation of Hamas -- defined by the European Union as a terrorist organization -- will carry some weight.

"Israel will have a case for saying: 'As long as these guys are on board what do you expect us to do?' That case will be challenged, but the case is makeable, I think, even in the European context."

Writing in the weekend edition of the Jerusalem Post, diplomatic analyst Herb Keinon took a different view.

"For months there have been voices in the EU calling for engagement with Hamas; voices proclaiming that peace is made with enemies; that Hamas can be tamed by being brought into the political tent... that no agreement is possible without the Islamic organisation," he said.

"Rather than be put off, like most Israelis were, by the fact that the PA is on the verge of incorporating into its unity government an organisation calling for Israel's destruction, many in Europe will see this move as an indication that Hamas has become pragmatic and more 'moderate' as a result of the apparent loss of its patron in Syria."