Hamas members will not be allowed to represent the Palestinian Authority in the
International Organization of Parliaments (IPU), the group’s secretary-general,
Andres B. Johnsson, told Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Sunday.
“Fatah
is a recognized political movement, but Hamas is a terrorist
organization. The PA must choose a side. Hamas is trying to use the IPU
to pave its way to international recognition,” Rivlin told
Johnsson.
“Your organization must make it clear that it will not allow
Hamas members in its ranks, whether or not there is a unity deal [between Hamas
and the PA],” the Knesset speaker said. “Do not help Hamas get international
recognition.”
The IPU was founded in 1889 as a framework for
parliamentary dialogue, which encourages representative democracy and works
towards international cooperation. The PA became an official member of the
organization in 2008.
“The unity deal will not help Hamas in the IPU. We
will make sure that the Palestinian delegation will not include Hamas members,
and will only authorize the list of participants when we are sure that Hamas is
not a part of it,” Johnsson told Rivlin. “There have been attempts to include
Hamas members in official PA delegations, but I have stopped
them.”
Rivlin also said he supports the Moroccan candidate for the IPU
presidency over the Indonesian candidate.
“We are not worried about
participating in international forums with Arab representation, as long as they
hold fair discussions and are not used as an international stage to censure the
State of Israel,” he explained. “We will not agree to take part in a hostile
forum.”