Palestinian president puts Hamas on the spot
Who would have expected such a bold move from Mahmoud Abbas?
But bold move it is. He has called upon Hamas to recognise Israel within ten days or face a referendum.
It's an action that is likely to shock Israel as much as the government of Hamas, for the Israelis have rather enjoyed Hamas' intransigence, which has played into their hands as they seek to unilaterally decide Israel's borders without any negotiations with the Palestinians.
Hamas had already begun to give ground under pressure from a freezing of foreign aid that has left it unable to pay workers for months but Mr Abbas said a deepening economic crisis and factional violence required immediate action.
"The people will have their say, otherwise we continue in this vicious circle," he said. "The situation is getting more dangerous. The whole nation is in danger. We can't wait for the rest of our lives."
Mr Abbas's ultimatum also presents a potential challenge to the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, because a referendum in favour of a two-state solution would undercut his justification for unilaterally imposing Israel's final borders inside the occupied territories on the grounds that there is no Palestinian partner for peace.
Mr Abbas wants to win endorsement for a document drawn up earlier this month by Hamas and Fatah detainees in Israeli prisons that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, based on borders up to the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The document speaks about reaching a "final agreement" with Israel and says that Mr Abbas should negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians and put any accord to parliament or a referendum. Hamas has so far said it is only prepared to agree to a long-term ceasefire if Israel pulls back to the 1967 borders.
It's a very clever move by Abbas that will possibly be secretly welcomed by Hamas, who will allow the referendum to go ahead and then claim to be following the wishes of the people in recognising Israel.
As long as Hamas refused to recognise Israel, the US/Israeli script followed an all too familiar pattern and allowed the US and Israel to present themselves as peacemakers without partners.
If Hamas do recognise Israel it will be interesting to watch just how quickly the US and Israel change the script and make a brand new list of demands.
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