MIDDLE EAST: In a high-stakes political gamble, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that he will call a national referendum on a plan for the creation of a Palestinian state along 1967 borders - a move that would imply the recognition of Israel - if Hamas does not agree to back the proposal within 10 days.
"If you do not reach an agreement, I would like to tell you frankly that I will put this document to a referendum," Mr Abbas said in Ramallah at the opening of a two-day "national dialogue" between Hamas and Fatah, aimed at defusing the rising tensions between the two rival groups. If agreement is not reached, the Palestinian leader added, a referendum would be held in 40 days.
The proposal Mr Abbas is referring to was drafted in an Israeli prison by senior Hamas and Fatah prisoners. It calls for a peace agreement with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
The surprise move appears aimed at pressuring Hamas to moderate its anti-Israel positions - the organisation's charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. But it is also meant to counter Israel's plans for a unilateral withdrawal in the West Bank.
The Palestinians strongly oppose such a move, fearing Israel will impose borders and make a future state in the West Bank unviable. But if Mr Abbas can show he is a serious negotiating partner, then Israel might have to relinquish unilateralism and return to bilateral talks. The Palestinian leader's announcement came as Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert returned yesterday from Washington, where he won qualified American backing for a unilateral withdrawal in the West Bank.
The response by Hamas was divided. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas legislator in Gaza, called the referendum idea a "coup against the democratic choice" of the Palestinian people, who voted the Islamic group into power in late January. But Abdel Aziz Duaik, the Hamas speaker of parliament, said the document drawn up by the prisoners was a good basis for dialogue.
Israeli government officials were quick to dismiss Mr Abbas's gambit. Justice minister Haim Ramon, of the ruling Kadima party, said the document was not a basis for negotiation because it included the right of return for Palestinian refugees to Israel.