Sources in the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) report an ongoing internal dialogue between the Fatah leader and Hamas officials in Cairo in the hope of reaching an agreement that will bring an end to the infighting. Should the effort fail, Abu Mazen may use his presidential powers to disband the current cabinet, a move that would empower the PLO directorate to extend his term in office for an additional six months.
 
Such a move would guarantee Abu Mazen another half year in office, pushing off a likely Hamas success at the election polls. Fatah officials throughout Yehuda and Shomron fear that elections in the PA would have the same result as the last election in Gaza, with control leaving Fatah’s hands and the entire PA autonomous structure would become a Hamas entity. Iran has a hand in this too, working to support Hamas and promote Hamas PA in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah among PA residents.
 
PA officials admit such a move, disbanding the cabinet, would be an “extreme one” but it would signal the situation throughout the PA is on the verge of collapse.
 
There is also talk of a multinational Arab force in Gaza, a move that has met with Hamas objections, unwilling to entertain the Egyptian offer. Abu Mazen however is weighing the option of declaring Gaza a “rebellious area” and would use the multinational Arab force to apprehend and place on trial those officials of Hamas who have taken over the area.
 
The newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi reports Abu Mazen and his senior aides are weighing the situation as they seek a way to return the PA’s authority to all areas including Gaza at a time when Hamas’ influence appears to be growing in popularity among PA residents in Yehuda and Shomron.
 
The report confirms IDF intelligence concerns, explaining that additional concessions in a deal with Abu Mazen may not hold, and facts on the ground signal that the areas now under Abu Mazen’s rule may soon be an extension of the Hamas regime currently controlling Gaza. 

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)