Abbas welcomes Livni's Kadima victory

Believes she'll be a partner for peace; PA officials had 'tremendous concern' over possible Mofaz win.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
abbas 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
abbas 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
Palestinian Authority officials on Thursday welcomed the election of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as chairwoman of Kadima and said they were looking forward to working with her to advance the peace process. The officials said that PA President Mahmoud Abbas was satisfied with Livni's victory because he believed that she is dedicated to the peace process. They said that as head of the Israeli negotiating team, Livni had much more experience in conducting the talks with the Palestinians than any other senior Israeli government official. "President Abbas is looking forward to working with Livni after she succeeds [Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert," said one official. "We believe that Livni will do her utmost to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations." Another PA official pointed out that there had been tremendous concern among the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah over the possibility that Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz would win the Kadima primary. "Mofaz is a Likud man and as such he's not much different from [Likud Chairman Benyamin] Netanyahu," the official said. "We also haven't forgotten the iron-fist policy which he employed against the Palestinians when he was [IDF] Chief of Staff and Defense Minister." He added: "Livni represents the voice of moderation and pragmatism while Mofaz is a man of war and extremism." PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters that he was convinced that Livni would pursue her efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians. "We welcome the choice of the Israeli people and hope that serious negotiations will take place after the formation of a new government," he said. Hassan Asfour, a former PA negotiator and minister, described Livni as the "candidate of the Arabs." All the Arabs, he added, have long been waiting for Livni. "The question now is whether the Palestinian track would be as warm as Livni's relations with the Palestinian negotiating team and many Arabs," he said. Hafez Barghouti, editor of the PA-funded Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, voiced skepticism regarding Livni's ability to boost the peace process. "Livni is more radical in her views than Olmert," he said. "And she is more moderate than Netanyahu. She is opposed to the return of the Palestinian refugees [to Israel]. We should not expect much from the changes in Israel." Hamas, for its part, said it saw no difference between Livni, Mofaz or any other Israeli leader. "There's a consensus in Israel on destroying the Palestinian people," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "We don't pin any hopes on any elections in Israel because they don't want to give us our rights."