Hamas, Abbas At Odds Over When Abbas' Rule Ends

Hamas says that Mahmoud Abbas' term as Palestinian president ends in six months while Abbas' supporters say he is at the helm through 2010. I'd say that's a bit of a difference! Hahaha. Look at this line from the article at Breitbart:

A debate over when Mahmoud Abbas' term expires is threatening the Palestinian president's ability to head off a permanent split between Gaza and the West Bank—and Washington's goal of forging some sort of Mideast peace deal by year's end.

I mean, can these guys actually be serious? Israel and Hamas can't even keep a truce together for five days and Washington actually thinks some sort of peace deal can be made by the end of 2008? Apparently, every single U.S. President dating back to Eisenhower thinks that a peace deal in the Middle East is imminent and doable. Well, it's 50 years later and it's about as close to happening as hell freezing over while a flock of pigs fly overhead.

As for Hamas and Abbas - this is like the absolute worst Hollywood marriage in recorded history. I've never seen two factions so "on again", "off again" in my entire life. One day they are killing each other, the next day they are celebrating together. In my opinion, the chances of Hamas and Fatah getting along, let alone the Israelis and any of its neighbors are probably as good as every islamic jihadist laying down his weapons and suicide belt today and converting over to Baptist.

Tiff over term could hurt Palestinian president

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - A debate over when Mahmoud Abbas' term expires is threatening the Palestinian president's ability to head off a permanent split between Gaza and the West Bank—and Washington's goal of forging some sort of Mideast peace deal by year's end.
Gaza's Hamas rulers say their recognition of Abbas' presidency—a key ingredient for any future reconciliation—will end in six months. After that, they say, Abbas' term ends and they plan to hold elections for a new leader.
Abbas aides maintain he can stay in office until 2010.
The debate is not just about fine print. The Hamas deadline coincides with President Bush's target date for at least the outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Few expect Bush's Mideast peace initiative to bear fruit unless Abbas can restore his rule in Gaza—an outcome that would probably require renewed deal making with Hamas.
Abbas has been in control of only the West Bank since Hamas seized Gaza by force a year ago, and he'll probably keep his truncated job no matter what Hamas decides. But failure to lead his people to independence, along with a decision by Hamas to withdraw its recognition, would further weaken an already unpopular president and cement the rift between Hamas and Abbas' pragmatic Fatah movement.
"If the year ends without a peace deal, as people were promised, then Abbas and the entire Palestinian Authority, which was established to bring about this solution, would come under a big question mark," said political analyst Ali Jerbawi.
The dispute stems from conflicting interpretations of legislation.
Abbas was elected president in January 2005, winning 62 percent of the vote in the West Bank and Gaza. A year later, Hamas defeated Fatah by a landslide in parliamentary elections. The Basic Law, a forerunner to a Palestinian constitution, says both president and parliament are elected to four-year terms.
Before Hamas was elected, parliament passed a law stipulating that future presidential and parliamentary elections be held simultaneously. However, the subsequent Hamas-controlled parliament never amended the Basic Law to include this new clause. The upshot: Fatah believes Abbas has the right to stay in office an extra year.
Until now, Hamas has not challenged Abbas' position as president—even allowing him to negotiate peace with Israel.