The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday expressed fear that the talk about easing restrictions on the Gaza Strip was part of an Israeli-Palestinian “conspiracy” to transform the Palestinian cause into a “humanitarian issue.”



The PA, which has been imposing its own financial sanctions on the Gaza Strip, also expressed fear that the easing of restrictions would embolden Hamas and tighten its grip over the coastal enclave.

Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah claimed that the US administration and the Israeli government were now talking about improving the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a way of “undermining the Palestinian national project, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.”The PA leadership has been facing growing pressure from Palestinians to lift the sanctions that President Mahmoud Abbas imposed on the Gaza Strip about one year ago. The sanctions include, among other things, cutting off salaries to thousands of PA employees, as well as financial assistance to hundreds of families in the Gaza Strip. The PA initially said it would stop paying for the electricity and fuel that Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip, but later partially backtracked.The PA’s sanctions on the Gaza Strip have triggered an unprecedented wave of protests in some parts of the West Bank, with Palestinian protesters demanding an end to the punitive measures.Some PA representatives said they were hoping that the sanctions would aggravate the humanitarian crisis to a point where Palestinians would revolt against Hamas, which violently seized the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.PA officials have repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks that they will not lift the sanctions unless Hamas relinquishes control over the Gaza Strip and allows the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to assume its civilian and security responsibilities there.PA officials in Ramallah have been following with increased concern statements by Israeli and US administration officials about the need to prevent a humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip.On Tuesday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the PA presidency, described the ideas that are being floated around concerning the Gaza Strip as “illusions.”These ideas, he said, were aimed at “abolishing the Palestinian national entity and killing the [Palestinian] national project of establishing our independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.”Abu Rudaineh claimed that the US and Israel were seeking to exploit the crisis in the Gaza Strip for “political and humanitarian” purposes.Referring to a report about an Israeli plan to build a sea port in Cyprus for cargo ships destined for the Gaza Strip, the PA spokesperson said that such “suspicious” ideas and proposals should only come in the context of a comprehensive political solution that is based on international resolutions.“This is an attempt to create coexistence with the occupation and evade the explosive reality,” Abu Rudeineh said.Channel 2 reported on Monday that Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had advanced the port plan during his recent visit to Cyprus.According to the report, the plan would include construction of a special pier for cargo ships carrying goods destined for the Gaza Strip. They would be checked with the help of an Israeli monitoring mechanism to ensure that no weapons were being smuggled into the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.However, a government spokesman in Cyprus was quoted on Tuesday as saying, “There is no agreement over the construction of a port in Cyprus to send, under Israeli control, goods to the Gaza Strip, but there is a request which is being considered.”Asked to comment on the Cyprus port idea, a top Abbas aide said, “We don’t understand what’s going on; has Cyprus become an Israeli province? Who gave Israel the authority to involve Cyprus in matters related to a sea port or a prisoner exchange agreement [between Hamas and Israel]?”Some officials and political analysts in Ramallah said they were convinced that the increased talk about solving the crisis in the Gaza Strip was part of the US administration’s yet-to-be-announced peace plan. They believe that the plan, which US President Donald Trump has called the “deal of the century,” is aimed at “solidifying” the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.“Israel and this US administration don’t want to see the West Bank and Gaza Strip united,” said a veteran Fatah official. “But what they need to understand is that any gestures to the Gaza Strip will play into the hands of Hamas, prolong its rule and absolve of its responsibilities towards the residents living there. This would be a severe blow to President Abbas’s efforts over the past few years to undermine Hamas.”ABDEL NASSER Al-Najjar, a former chairman of the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, said he was worried about reports to the effect that Hamas was prepared to accept US and Israeli ideas to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians and ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip.“It would be a disaster for the Palestinians if the new American peace initiative would be presented as a plan to lift sanctions and improve living conditions in the Gaza Strip,” Najjar wrote in an article published in the PA’s daily Al-Ayyam newspaper. “Obviously, the Palestinian cause is at a crossroads and the Palestinian leadership is facing immense pressure. But in the end, it is the Palestinians who decide. Even if the whole world accepts it, the [US] peace plan will not pass without the Palestinians’ consent.”Najjar and other Palestinians, including several Abbas loyalists, urged the PA leadership to remove the sanctions against the Gaza Strip to avoid a situation where the Palestinians would have to permanently live with two separate entities.“It would be better for us to share hunger than to destroy the Palestinian cause,” Najjar wrote, appealing to the PA leadership to lift the sanctions and reconsider its entire policy towards the Gaza Strip.Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction, in a statement published in Ramallah, claimed that some Hamas leaders seemed to support Israeli and US proposals to focus on solving the humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip.Fatah also claimed that Hamas leaders, who it did not mention by name, have been sending “direct messages to the US and America” to discuss the proposals under the pretext of finding humanitarian solutions to the crisis in the Gaza Strip.In its statement, Fatah warned Hamas that dealing with the Israeli and American proposals was tantamount to “betraying the cause, the land, Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa [Mosque].”Palestinian political analyst Amjad Subhi said that the talk about solving the crisis in the Gaza Strip has worried Abbas and several senior officials in Ramallah. “The Palestinian Authority sees this as a gift to Hamas,” he said. “Abbas and his government believe that Israel and the US want to keep Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinians would never be able to establish their own unified and independent state.”Subhi and other sources in Ramallah said that the PA leaders were already concerned about Egypt’s recent decision to reopen the Rafah border crossing along its shared border with the Gaza Strip. Abbas is even reported to have sent messages to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi protesting against the reopening of the Rafah terminal.Abbas, according to an informed source in Ramallah, is particularly worried that his political arch-rival, Mohammed Dahlan, would benefit from the Egyptian gesture. Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates and has close ties with Sisi, is said to have played a vital role in convincing the Egyptian authorities to ease travel restrictions on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Sisi dismissed Abbas’s messages and said Egypt was acting on the basis of what’s good for its national security and interests, the source said.“We have reached an absurd situation where Israel, the US, and many international parties are doing their utmost to find a solution to the problems in the Gaza Strip and alleviate the suffering of the people, while the Palestinian president and his government are working hard to keep the sanctions and intensify the crisis,” the source added.

var cont = `Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>



`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ }); </s> The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday expressed fear that the talk about easing restrictions on the Gaza Strip was part of an Israeli-Palestinian “conspiracy” to transform the Palestinian cause into a “humanitarian issue.”



The PA, which has been imposing its own financial sanctions on the Gaza Strip, also expressed fear that the easing of restrictions would embolden Hamas and tighten its grip over the coastal enclave.





Palestinian officials in Ramallah claimed that the US administration and the Israeli government were now talking about improving the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a way of “undermining the Palestinian national project, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.”The PA leadership has been facing growing pressure from Palestinians to lift the sanctions that President Mahmoud Abbas imposed on the Gaza Strip about one year ago. The sanctions include, among other things, cutting off salaries to thousands of PA employees, as well as financial assistance to hundreds of families in the Gaza Strip. The PA initially said it would stop paying for the electricity and fuel that Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip, but later partially backtracked.The PA’s sanctions on the Gaza Strip have triggered an unprecedented wave of protests in some parts of the West Bank, with Palestinian protesters demanding an end to the punitive measures.Some PA representatives said they were hoping that the sanctions would aggravate the humanitarian crisis to a point where Palestinians would revolt against Hamas, which violently seized the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.PA officials have repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks that they will not lift the sanctions unless Hamas relinquishes control over the Gaza Strip and allows the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to assume its civilian and security responsibilities there.PA officials in Ramallah have been following with increased concern statements by Israeli and US administration officials about the need to prevent a humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip.On Tuesday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the PA presidency, described the ideas that are being floated around concerning the Gaza Strip as “illusions.”These ideas, he said, were aimed at “abolishing the Palestinian national entity and killing the [Palestinian] national project of establishing our independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.”Abu Rudaineh claimed that the US and Israel were seeking to exploit the crisis in the Gaza Strip for “political and humanitarian” purposes.Referring to a report about an Israeli plan to build a sea port in Cyprus for cargo ships destined for the Gaza Strip, the PA spokesperson said that such “suspicious” ideas and proposals should only come in the context of a comprehensive political solution that is based on international resolutions.“This is an attempt to create coexistence with the occupation and evade the explosive reality,” Abu Rudeineh said.Channel 2 reported on Monday that Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had advanced the port plan during his recent visit to Cyprus.According to the report, the plan would include construction of a special pier for cargo ships carrying goods destined for the Gaza Strip. They would be checked with the help of an Israeli monitoring mechanism to ensure that no weapons were being smuggled into the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.However, a government spokesman in Cyprus was quoted on Tuesday as saying, “There is no agreement over the construction of a port in Cyprus to send, under Israeli control, goods to the Gaza Strip, but there is a request which is being considered.”Asked to comment on the Cyprus port idea, a top Abbas aide said, “We don’t understand what’s going on; has Cyprus become an Israeli province? Who gave Israel the authority to involve Cyprus in matters related to a sea port or a prisoner exchange agreement [between Hamas and Israel]?”Some officials and political analysts in Ramallah said they were convinced that the increased talk about solving the crisis in the Gaza Strip was part of the US administration’s yet-to-be-announced peace plan. They believe that the plan, which US President Donald Trump has called the “deal of the century,” is aimed at “solidifying” the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.“Israel and this US administration don’t want to see the West Bank and Gaza Strip united,” said a veteran Fatah official. “But what they need to understand is that any gestures to the Gaza Strip will play into the hands of Hamas, prolong its rule and absolve of its responsibilities towards the residents living there. This would be a severe blow to President Abbas’s efforts over the past few years to undermine Hamas.”ABDEL NASSER Al-Najjar, a former chairman of the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, said he was worried about reports to the effect that Hamas was prepared to accept US and Israeli ideas to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians and ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip.“It would be a disaster for the Palestinians if the new American peace initiative would be presented as a plan to lift sanctions and improve living conditions in the Gaza Strip,” Najjar wrote in an article published in the PA’s daily Al-Ayyam newspaper. “Obviously, the Palestinian cause is at a crossroads and the Palestinian leadership is facing immense pressure. But in the end, it is the Palestinians who decide. Even if the whole world accepts it, the [US] peace plan will not pass without the Palestinians’ consent.”Najjar and other Palestinians, including several Abbas loyalists, urged the PA leadership to remove the sanctions against the Gaza Strip to avoid a situation where the Palestinians would have to permanently live with two separate entities.“It would be better for us to share hunger than to destroy the Palestinian cause,” Najjar wrote, appealing to the PA leadership to lift the sanctions and reconsider its entire policy towards the Gaza Strip.Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction, in a statement published in Ramallah, claimed that some Hamas leaders seemed to support Israeli and US proposals to focus on solving the humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip.Fatah also claimed that Hamas leaders, who it did not mention by name, have been sending “direct messages to the US and America” to discuss the proposals under the pretext of finding humanitarian solutions to the crisis in the Gaza Strip.In its statement, Fatah warned Hamas that dealing with the Israeli and American proposals was tantamount to “betraying the cause, the land, Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa [Mosque].”Palestinian political analyst Amjad Subhi said that the talk about solving the crisis in the Gaza Strip has worried Abbas and several senior officials in Ramallah. “The Palestinian Authority sees this as a gift to Hamas,” he said. “Abbas and his government believe that Israel and the US want to keep Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinians would never be able to establish their own unified and independent state.”Subhi and other sources in Ramallah said that the PA leaders were already concerned about Egypt’s recent decision to reopen the Rafah border crossing along its shared border with the Gaza Strip. Abbas is even reported to have sent messages to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi protesting against the reopening of the Rafah terminal.Abbas, according to an informed source in Ramallah, is particularly worried that his political arch-rival, Mohammed Dahlan, would benefit from the Egyptian gesture. Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates and has close ties with Sisi, is said to have played a vital role in convincing the Egyptian authorities to ease travel restrictions on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Sisi dismissed Abbas’s messages and said Egypt was acting on the basis of what’s good for its national security and interests, the source said.“We have reached an absurd situation where Israel, the US, and many international parties are doing their utmost to find a solution to the problems in the Gaza Strip and alleviate the suffering of the people, while the Palestinian president and his government are working hard to keep the sanctions and intensify the crisis,” the source added. </s> Alwaght- The United Nations General Assembly has rejected a US-sponsored resolution seeking to condemn the Palestinian Islamic Resistance movement, Hamas.

The resolution, which was backed strongly by the Israeli regime, needed a two-thirds majority to pass on Thursday following an earlier vote in the assembly.

The proposal failed to cross the threshold, with 87 nations voting in favor and 57 voting against. Thirty-three countries abstained.

The earlier vote to require a two-thirds majority, which followed a procedural move requested by Kuwait, was much closer: 75-72, with 26 abstentions.

The resolution was one of the hawkish US ambassador to the UN envoy Nikki Haley's final acts in the international body before she leaves her post at the end of the year.

In an official statement, Hamas thanked UN member states "that stood by our people's resistance and the justice of their cause" and attacked Haley who it said "is known for her extremism and her positions that support the Zionist terrorism in Palestine".

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zahri described the vote as a "slap" to President Donald Trump's administration.

"The failure of the American venture at the United Nations represents a slap to the US administration and confirmation of the legitimacy of the resistance," Zahri wrote on Twitter.

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, also welcomed the resolution's defeat saying: "The Palestinian presidency will not allow for the condemnation of the national Palestinian struggle."

In 2006, Hamas beat Fatah in parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip and, a year later, fighting between the rival factions broke out.

When Hamas eventually took control, the Israeli regime responded by enforcing a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza. The Egyptian regime followed suit, effectively sealing the Strip - often described as the world's largest prison - from the outside world.

Gaza's continued isolation has devastated its economy, impoverished its population and left 60 percent without jobs, adequate electricity and health services. </s> UNITED NATIONS — A U.S.-sponsored draft resolution that for the first time would have condemned the militant Islamic group Hamas, which controls Gaza, failed to win the required two-thirds majority in the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

Before the vote on the resolution, the 193-member world body had narrowly voted to require a two-thirds majority for approval as sought by Arab nations for rather than the simple majority urged by the United States.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the assembly before the vote that it could make history and unconditionally speak out against Hamas, which she called "one of the most obvious and grotesque cases of terrorism in the world."

"What the U.N. chooses to do today will speak volumes about each country's seriousness when it comes to condemning anti-Semitism," she said. "Because there is nothing more anti-Semitic than saying terrorism is not terrorism when it's used against the Jewish people and the Jewish state."

But the vote on the resolution to condemn Hamas was 87 in favor against 57 opposed, with 33 abstentions — a plurality but below the two-thirds requirement to adopt it. The vote to require a two-thirds majority was much closer, 75-72, with 26 abstentions and several countries changing their votes to "yes" at the last minute.

In an official statement, Hamas thanked U.N. member states "that stood by our people's resistance and the justice of their cause" and attacked Haley who it said "is known for her extremism and her positions that support the Zionist terrorism in Palestine."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah party is locked in a bitter decade-long split with Hamas, also welcomed the resolution's defeat saying: "The Palestinian presidency will not allow for the condemnation of the national Palestinian struggle."

By contrast, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the "large majority" — 87 countries — "that took a stance against Hamas" for the first time, calling it "an important achievement for the United States and Israel."

The U.S. attempt to condemn Hamas and demand that the militant group stop firing rockets into Israel, using "airborne incendiary devices" and putting civilians at risk sparked a Palestinian-backed amendment sponsored by Bolivia.

It outlined the basis for comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace and referred to a December 2016 Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law. It also reaffirmed "unwavering support" for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — issues not included in the U.S. draft.

But before the vote on the U.S. draft resolution, Bolivian Ambassador Sasha Llorentty Soliz withdrew the amendment.

That was because the Palestinians and their supporters wanted a vote instead on a short rival resolution entitled "Comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East" sponsored by Ireland that included the exact language of the amendment — but no mention of Hamas.

After the U.S. draft on Hamas failed to win adoption, the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the Irish resolution by a vote of 156-6, with 12 abstentions.

It calls for "the achievement, without delay" of lasting Mideast peace on the basis of U.N. resolutions, singling out the December 2016 measure. And it reaffirms "unwavering support ... for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders."

The rival resolutions reflect the deep divisions among the 193 U.N. member states over the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and the failure to end it.

Saudi Arabia's U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, reflecting the Arab view, said the U.S. resolution would "undermine the two-state solution which we aspire to." And he said it would also turn attention away from Israel's occupation, settlement activities and "blockade" — whether in Gaza, the West Bank or east Jerusalem which the Palestinians want as their future capital.

Haley sharply criticized the United Nations as having an anti-Israel bias, noting that "over the years, the U.N. has voted to condemn Israel over 500 times" — an average of 20 times a year.

She stressed that Hamas' charter "openly calls for the destruction of Israel" and cited a variety of "barbaric terrorist tactics" it has used including suicide bombers and thousands of rockets, flaming kites and balloons.

Haley called condemnation of Hamas "an essential step" to a peace settlement.

The United States changed its initial draft resolution to get backing from the 28-nation European Union, adding that it supports a comprehensive peace agreement "bearing in mind relevant United Nations resolutions."

But the resolution that was voted on never mentioned a two-state solution or referred to Israeli actions against the Palestinians, which some countries considered unbalanced.

The overwhelming support for the Irish resolution reflects global support for action "without delay" toward an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a two-state solution. </s> A US-sponsored draft resolution that would have condemned the militant Islamic group Hamas, which controls Gaza, failed to win the required two-thirds majority in the UN General Assembly on Thursday. The draft received 87 votes in favor, 57 against, 33 abstentions and 16 countries did not vote. Germany voted in favor of the draft resolution.

Before the assembly voted on the text, the 193-member world body had narrowly voted to require a two-thirds majority for approval as sought by Arab nations, rather than the simple majority urged by the United States.

The vote to require a two-thirds majority was close, 75-72, with 26 abstentions and several countries changing their votes to "yes" at the last minute.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the assembly before the vote that it could make history and unconditionally speak out against Hamas, which she called "one of the most obvious and grotesque cases of terrorism in the world."

"What the UN chooses to do today will speak volumes about each country's seriousness when it comes to condemning anti-Semitism," Haley said. "Because there is nothing more anti-Semitic than saying terrorism is not terrorism when it's used against the Jewish people and the Jewish state."

Both the United States and European Union have classified Hamas as a terrorist group.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told the Reuters news agency, "Rejecting the American drafted resolution against the resistance represents a blow to the American administration and reaffirms the legitimacy of the resistance."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah party has been locked in a power struggle with Hamas, welcomed the resolution's defeat saying, "The Palestinian presidency will not allow for the condemnation of the national Palestinian struggle."

The US attempt to condemn Hamas and demand that the militant group firing rockets into Israel, using "airborne incendiary devices," and putting civilians at risk sparked a Palestinian-backed amendment sponsored by Bolivia.

The amendment outlined the basis for comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace and referred to a December 2016 Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

It also reaffirmed "unwavering support" for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - issues that were not included in the US draft.

However, before the vote on the US draft resolution, Bolivian Ambassador Sasha Llorentty Soliz withdrew the amendment.

That was because the Palestinians and their supporters wanted a vote instead on a short rival resolution sponsored by Ireland that included the exact language of the amendment.

After the US draft on Hamas was not adopted, the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the Irish resolution by a vote of 156-6, with 12 abstentions.

It called for "the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East" on the basis of UN resolutions, singling out the December 2016 measure, and reaffirms "unwavering support ... for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders."

The two rival resolutions reflect the deep divisions among the 193 UN member states over the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the failure to end it.

Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are non-binding, however, they carry political weight and are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Ambassador Nikki Haley’s final resolution secures only 87 votes, falling short of the required two-thirds majority

A U.S. resolution championed by Ambassador Nikki Haley to condemn the Palestinian Hamas movement at the United Nations for firing rockets at Israel failed to win enough votes for adoption on Thursday.

The proposed measure won 87 votes in the General Assembly, falling short of the required two-thirds majority. Fifty-eight countries opposed the measure and 32 abstained.

Haley, who steps down from her post at the end of the year, has repeatedly accused the United Nations of having an anti-Israel bias and has defended Israel in its latest confrontation with Hamas, the Islamist militant group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

It was the first proposed resolution condemning Hamas to be presented to the 193-nation assembly, which has been meeting since 1946.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Haley said the measure “would right a historic wrong” and “put the General Assembly on the side of truth and balance in the effort to achieve peace in the Middle East.”

“The question before us now is whether the U.N. thinks terrorism is acceptable if, and only if, it is directed against Israel,” she told the assembly.

Hamas praised the outcome of the vote, describing it as a “slap” to President Donald Trump’s administration, which has taken a firm pro-Israeli stance in addressing the Middle East peace process. “The failure of the American venture at the United Nations represents a slap to the U.S. administration and confirmation of the legitimacy of the resistance,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zahri wrote on Twitter, using a phrase commonly used to refer to armed groups that oppose Israel.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon lamented after the vote that a decision to condemn Hamas had been “hijacked” by procedural votes and hailed the “broad support from the world” for condemning Hamas.

Kuwait had asked the assembly, on behalf of Arab countries, to require a two-thirds majority, which was narrowly endorsed by a vote of 75 in favor, including E.U. countries, 72 against and 26 abstentions. The United States had won crucial backing from the European Union, with all 28 countries supporting the U.S. measure that would have condemned Hamas for firing rockets into Israel and demanded an end to the violence.

The European Union, like the United States, considers Hamas a terror group.

The assembly also adopted by a wide margin of 156 to six with 12 abstentions a Palestinian-drafted measure, presented by Ireland, calling “for the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East” based on U.N. resolutions.

The United States, Israel, Australia, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Nauru voted against that measure.

The vote at the assembly took place as Haley prepares to step away from public life even as polls show she remains one of the most popular members of Trump’s cabinet. Haley rattled the United Nations when she arrived in January 2017 vowing that the United States will be “taking names” of countries that oppose Trump’s foreign policy.

Ahead of the vote, the U.S. ambassador sent a letter to all U.N. missions to make clear that “the United States takes the outcome of this vote very seriously.”

“She would like to go out with something,” said a Security Council diplomat of the U.S.-drafted resolution.

Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are non-binding, but they carry political weight and are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

The U.S. defeat at the General Assembly came as the Trump administration prepares to unveil long-awaited peace proposals, possibly in the first months of next year. The Palestinians have severed ties with the Trump administration since the decision a year ago to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and declare the city Israel’s capital.

The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. International consensus has been that Jerusalem’s status must be negotiated between the two sides. </s> Hamas, the de facto ruling party of the Gaza Strip, has pledged to dissolve its administrative committee that runs the besieged coastal enclave and expressed readiness to hold general elections, in a bid for reconciliation with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA).

A statement from Hamas movement said the decision came in response to recent diplomatic efforts by Egypt to reconcile the rival factions, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been calling on Hamas to end the administrative committee, relinquish control of the small territory to the PA, and hold presidential and legislative elections.

Hamas and the Fatah-led PA have been embroiled in a more than a decade-long conflict since 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections and a bloody conflict between the two groups broke out.

 Despite numerous attempts at reconciling the groups, Palestinian leadership has repeatedly failed to follow through on promises of reconciliation and holding of long-overdue elections, as both movements have frequently blamed each other for numerous political failures.

The Hamas movement said Sunday it has dissolved its administrative committee — formed earlier this year to the outrage of the PA, agrees to hold general elections for the first time since 2006, enter talks with Fatah, and allow the national reconciliation government to operate in Gaza.

Hamas signed the reconciliation agreement with the PLO in April 2014, which was to pave the way for a general election by the end of 2014. However, a devastating 50-day Israeli attack on Gaza that year, as well as a dispute over payment of the salaries of tens of thousands of Hamas security forces, first blocked progress on the deal towards reconciliation.

The Palestinian political crisis has since only continued to worsen, and Hamas said it formed the committee after the consensus government failed to take responsibility for Gaza’s administration. The PA alleges that Hamas is attempting to form a “shadow government” to run Gaza independent of the West Bank.

In recent months, the PA has been also been accused of deliberately sending the impoverished Gaza Strip further into a humanitarian catastrophe — by slashing funding for Israeli fuel, medicine, and salaries for civil servants and former prisoners — in order to wrest control of the territory from Hamas.

Last month, Abbas threatened to undertake further repressive measures against the impoverished territory should Hamas not unconditionally abide by the PA’s demands to end the administrative committee, relinquish control of the enclave to the PA, and hold presidential and legislative elections.

Following Hamas’ acceptance of these key conditions on Sunday, senior Fatah official Mahmoud Aloul told Reuters news agency that he welcomed cautiously Hamas’s position. “If this is Hamas statement, then this is a positive sign,” he reportedly said. “We in Fatah movement are ready to implement reconciliation.”

 Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmed also welcomed Hamas’ decision to dissolve the administrative committee, he told PA-owned Wafa news agency.

Al-Ahmed, who is currently in Cairo for Egyptian-led reconciliation talks with Hamas, told Wafa that a lengthy meeting was held between the Fatah delegation in Cairo with the head of the Egyptian intelligence service, Minister Khaled Fawzi, in which they reviewed the continuous efforts exerted by Egypt to end the Palestinian internal split.

Al-Hamad confirmed reports that the Fatah delegation met with the Hamas leadership, and “hailed Hamas’s call for the unity government to resume its normal work in Gaza as well as its approval to hold presidential and legislative elections,” according to Wafa’s report.

The Fatah official also said that there will be a bilateral meeting between Fatah and Hamas officials followed by a meeting of all the Palestinian factions that signed the May 2011 reconciliation agreement “in order to begin practical steps to implement the deal,” and expressed hope that the coming days would “witness tangible practical steps,” Wafa said.

Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, also released a statement welcoming Hamas’ announcement. “I welcome the recent statement by Hamas announcing the dissolving of the Administrative Committee in Gaza and agreement to allow the Government of National Consensus to assume its responsibilities in Gaza,” he said.

“I commend the Egyptian authorities for their tireless efforts in creating this positive momentum. All parties must seize this opportunity to restore unity and open a new page for the Palestinian people,” the UN envoy continued. “The United Nations stands ready to assist all efforts in this respect. It is critical that the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, most notably the crippling electricity crisis, be addressed as a priority.”

The development also came after head of the Hamas movement’s politburo Ismail Haniyeh and other high-ranking Hamas members met with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo last week, with talks focusing on a readiness to work toward national unity.

Hamas leadership told the Egyptians they would allow the Palestinian national reconciliation government to take charge of Gaza and carry out elections, so long as all Palestinian factions hold a conference in Cairo afterwards to elect a national government responsible for the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

An Egyptian source close to the intelligence services told Israeli news daily Haaretz that Hamas is trying to prove to Egypt that it is not obstructing reconciliation and is responding to demands, hoping to reap the benefits if and when the talks falter on the PA’s part.

Hamas has sought to improve relations with Cairo in recent months by increasing cross border security, including the construction of the military buffer zone, in hopes that Egypt will ease its enforcement of Israel’s brutal, decade-long siege of the territory and open up the Rafah border crossing. A Fatah delegation sent by Abbas to Cairo also discussed Egypt’s efforts to reconcile the Palestinians on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Abbas arrived in New York on Sunday to take part in the proceedings of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is to meet US President Donald Trump there on Wednesday, ahead of the Palestinian president’s speech at the UN Thursday. </s> RAMALLAH: US President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians, revealing its true intentions by cutting more than US$200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, senior Palestinian officials said Saturday.

A State Department official said on Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president", came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories.

The funding would "now address high-priority projects elsewhere", it added.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said the decision amounts to an "admission of the true intentions behind American aid policy of intervening in the internal affairs of other peoples".

US aid "is not a gift to our people but a duty of the international community to take responsibility for the continuation of Israeli occupation, preventing the development of the Palestinian economy and society," he said.

By slashing its aid to the Palestinians, the US "once again reaffirms its disregard for its international commitments", Erekat added.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, accused the US of using "cheap blackmail as a political tool".

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," she said.

The United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in January.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump in December decided to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with Washington and believe it can no longer be an impartial mediator in the Middle East peace process.

After the latest blow, Ashrawi insisted that Palestinians living under Israeli occupation would not be coerced into surrendering their rights.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation," she said in a statement.

"The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources," she said.

"Now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."

The Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, also denounced the aid cut.

Facing "the American policy of blackmail" necessitated "unifying the Palestinian ranks", spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told AFP.

In an initial reaction on Friday, the PLO's representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, told the US administration was "dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine".

He said Friday's move was "another confirmation" that Washington was "abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda."

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes as a humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests erupted in March.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the vast majority of them during demonstrations near the border. </s> UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly voted on Thursday against a resolution sponsored by U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley to condemn the Palestinian Hamas group as a terrorist organization. The resolution said it would be supporting "just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians," CBS News' Pamela Falk reports.

In a symbolic stride, the U.S. resolution did garner support by a majority of members, but failed because it required a supermajority.

Haley had been working with the EU and other regional blocs to get the support for the U.S. resolution, which it did, Falk said.

The vote was symbolically important because, from the time Haley arrived at the U.N. in January 2017, she has made a point of trying to turn the tide of what the Trump administration considers overwhelmingly anti-Israel resolutions and this vote illustrated what an uphill battle that turned out to be.

Before the vote, in a letter to diplomats obtained by CBS News, Haley wrote "the United States takes the outcome of this vote very seriously." Haley told the General Assembly before the vote that "peace must be built on truth. To its shame, the General Assembly has avoided the truth of Hamas terrorism for far too long."

Before the vote on the resolution, the 193-member world body had narrowly voted to require a two-thirds majority for approval as sought by Arab nations for rather than the simple majority urged by the United States.

Haley told the assembly before the vote that it could make history and unconditionally speak out against Hamas, which she called "one of the most obvious and grotesque cases of terrorism in the world."

But the vote on the resolution to condemn Hamas was 87 in favor against 57 opposed, with 33 abstentions — a plurality but below the two-thirds requirement to adopt it. The vote to require a two-thirds majority was much closer, 75-72, with 26 abstentions and several countries changing their votes to "yes" at the last minute.

The U.S. attempt to condemn Hamas and demand that the militant group stop firing rockets into Israel, using "airborne incendiary devices," and putting civilians at risk sparked a Palestinian-backed amendment sponsored by Bolivia.

It outlined the basis for comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace and referred to a December 2016 Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law. It also reaffirmed "unwavering support" for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - issues not included in the U.S. draft.

But before the vote on the U.S. draft resolution, Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorenty Soliz withdrew the amendment.

That was because the Palestinians and their supporters wanted a vote instead on a short rival resolution sponsored by Ireland that included the exact language of the amendment.

After the U.S. draft on Hamas failed to win adoption, the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the Irish resolution by a vote of 156-6, with 12 abstentions.

It calls for "the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East" on the basis of U.N. resolutions, singling out the December 2016 measure, and reaffirms "unwavering support ... for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders."

The rival resolutions reflect the deep divisions among the 193 U.N. member states over the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict - and the failure to end it.
The Palestinian Authority rejects proposals from Israel and the United States to reduce sanctions that the PA has imposed on Hamas-controlled Gaza. The PA says that there is a "conspiracy" afoot to create a "humanitarian issue" out of the disagreements.