PA prime minister visits Gaza to initiate power transfer from Hamas

Former Hamas Member Tells The Truth About Palestinian Leadership, Leaves UNHCR Stunned
http://conservativefighters.com/news/former-hamas-member-tells-truth-palestinian-leadership-leaves-unhcr-stunned/
Back in 2012, Musab Hassan Yousef wanted to film a movie with Sam Feuer, the American-Israeli director and promote it.

As he explained the movie was about his work for Israeli intelligence in the period 1997 to 2007 when the situation was pretty intense.

Musab Hassan Yousef is a small and gentle man, who looks fragile compared to his bodyguard. Anyhow, his determination to expose the truth about Israel and Palestine, ruled by Palestinian Authority and Hamas is amazing and impressive.

After the son of Hamas, the “Green Prince”, five years ago received asylum in the U.S. he quit his work for Hamas and Shin Beth, the Israeli security service, then he was baptized in the Mediterranean Sea and converted to Christianity.


When he moved to U.S he publicly spoke about his decision of changing a religion and also rejected Palestinian leadership, especially Hamas.

This is particularly shocking because Musab Hassan Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef a spiritual leader of Hamas. Yousef wrote a book named Son of Hamas and publicly explained about his life in Palestinian cities, but also talked about his decision to convert to Christianity.

There is no doubt that his decision contributed for prevention of countless murders and terroristic attacks, and he also prevented the plans for assassinations and suicide attacks of Israelis.

He was rewarded as most valuable source of intelligence of Shin Beth, and he even didn’t have second thoughts to share the information on the discussions and movement of his father.

He was also imprisoned in Israel to avoid any suspicion about his undercover work as spy of Israelis.

But this is not all. Last week, he appeared in Geneva and addressed to U.N. Human Rights Council, which met for Israel-bashing session.

This gathering came after the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, stated that Trump administration might sanction the U.N. for its support of Israel and criticizing of the Jewish state by the UNHRC.

This meeting that was held on Sept. 25 was about human rights in Palestine, but also for countries which are known as human rights offenders like Syria, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran, who stated that Israel is responsible for human rights violations, colonization, stealing of land and other war crimes.

Then Hillel Neuer of U.N. Watch invited Yousef to share his experience with the Council, and he left the delegates shocked by his speech.

“My name is Musab Hassan Yousef and I grew up in Ramallah as a member of Hamas,” he stated.

He started his speech with the question of PA legitimacy as a “sole legitimate representative” of the Palestinian Arabs.

“I ask: Where does your legitimacy come from? The Palestinian people did not elect you, and they did not appoint you to represent them. You are self-appointed. Your accountability is not to your own people. This is evidenced by your total violation of their human rights,” he stated.

“You kidnap Palestinian students from campus and torture them in your jails. You torture your political rivals. The suffering of the Palestinian people is the outcome of your selfish political interests,” Yousef stated and provoked disbelief.

“You are the greatest enemy of the Palestinian people,” Yousef said to the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s representative as she rolled her eyes.

PA prime minister visits Gaza to initiate power transfer from Hamas
https://worldisraelnews.com/pa-prime-minister-visits-gaza-initiate-power-transfer-hamas/?
October 3, 2017
PA prime minister visits Gaza to initiate power transfer from HamasHamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar (L), Head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh (C), Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (2-R) (AP/Prime Minister Office)

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have commenced their reconciliation process. Will this further hamper opportunities for peace with Israel?

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah arrived in the Gaza Strip Monday for the first time since 2014, as the PA and its rival, the Hamas terror group which rules Gaza, initiated the first steps in forming a unity government.

Hamdallah’s visit is intended as the first symbolic move towards transferring custodianship of the coastal territory from Hamas to the PA.

Upon arrival, Hamdallah and his 30-vehicle motorcade were greeted by Hamas members as well as members of the PA’s ruling party, Fatah. A crowd of 2,000 people gathered to hear the senior PA official deliver an address.

“The only way to statehood is through unity,” Hamdallah said. “We are coming to Gaza again to deepen the reconciliation and end the split.”

“The government began to exercise its roles in Gaza from today,” he said, praising Hamas for agreeing to hand over governance of the territory to the PA, and lauding Egypt for mediating the reconciliation deal.

This is by far the most ambitious attempt at Palestinian reconciliation since Hamas violently seized power of the coastal strip from Fatah in 2007, leaving the Palestinians torn between rival governments. Hamas has ruled Gaza, while Abbas’ party has controlled autonomous enclaves in the Judea and Samaria area.

The latest move towards Palestinian reconciliation comes after months of economic and political pressure applied by the PA against Hamas, including the PA’s decision to significantly cut its subsidization of Gaza’s electricity bill and stop paying salaries of government workers and former prisoners in Gaza.

Conditions in Gaza have deteriorated greatly in a decade of Hamas rule. Gaza has fallen deeper into poverty, unemployment is estimated at over 40 percent, Gaza’s 2 million residents are virtually barred from traveling abroad, and residents have electricity for only a few hours a day.

Who Will Control Hamas’ Guns?

Difficult negotiations lay ahead and key sticking points, particularly who will control Hamas’ vast weapons arsenal, could easily derail the effort. While Hamas is eager to give up its governing responsibilities, officials say the group will not give up its arsenal of thousands of rockets and mortars aimed at Israel.

While previous reconciliation attempts have failed, years of international isolation and steadily worsening conditions in Gaza have pushed Hamas toward compromise.

In a significant concession, Hamas has offered to turn over all governing responsibilities to Hamdallah. His ministers are expected to begin taking over government ministries Tuesday, with negotiations in Cairo on more difficult issues in the coming weeks.

Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt said in a statement that the US “welcomes efforts to create the conditions for the Palestinian Authority to fully assume its responsibilities in Gaza.”

“Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel,” and should also accept previous agreements between the parties, he added.

There was no immediate comment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reconciliation at Odds with Peace

The reconciliation with Hamas, which is still committed to terrorism against Israel, would put the PA at odds with the Quartet’s Roadmap for Peace, which outlines the necessary conditions for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

The Quartet principles were endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, and require Palestinian leadership to issue an “unequivocal statement reiterating Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and calling for an immediate end to all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere.”

In a press briefing hosted by The Israel Project last week, former deputy national security adviser Elliott Abrams noted that President Donald Trump was “quite unhappy with the behavior of Mahmoud Abbas during the Temple Mount incident, where he could have spoken in ways that would have ended the crisis. Instead his rhetoric was hot.” According to Abrams, Abbas’ actions “really changed their [the Trump administration’s] opinion of him.”

By: World Israel News Staff
With files from JNS.org, AP and the Tower