Zahar demands non-Arab guarantees

Hamas movement confirmed that it needs guarantees from non-Arab parties, so that the government to be formed by President Mahmoud Abbas would not be permanent as Yasser Arafat’s. Mahmoud Zahar, member of the movement’s political bureau, said in a press statement on Sunday that “Hamas requires guarantees, and President Mahmoud Abbas should present the government to the Legislative Council. He added that “some issues arose on Doha Declaration and were thoroughly studied, and was decided on how to be deal with them.” He denied that Hamas had set some conditions regarding the new government, wondering why Hamas always takes the blame. He explained “we have agreed in Egypt on the specifics of the government, and what was agreed upon should be implemented, which is to form the government from independents and in a consensual manner." In response to some press reports which indicated rebellion against the head of the Hamas political bureau, Zahar said: “The term rebellion is used in dictatorships and army revolutions, and we do not have such a thing as rebellion; you say your opinion and the institution decides. This is not how things go. This is an attempt to abuse the movement and its symbols rather than describe a fact.”