Opening the PLO central council meeting, Abbas calls early elections, Hamas denounces his criticism

Opening the PLO central council meeting, Abbas slams Hamas, calls early elections 

Date: 18 / 07 / 2007 Time: 20:10

Ramallah - Ma'an - 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday, in the opening address of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, that he will call early presidential and legislative elections without waiting for directives from what he called "the Hamas leaders who live abroad, and inside Palestine."

"We don't want to punish the Palestinian people, yet Hamas must be punished for what they did, especially as their leaders endeavor every day to justify the criminal conducts they committed in the name of religion, while they had planned to reach mean and contemptible goals," Abbas charged.

He added that the Hamas movement has issued a report to justify their behavior, yet their leaders "have dug their tombs with their own nails." He again highlighted the recorded videotape that revealed Hamas' plan to assassinate him in June, and he assured that he had received that cassette from two separate Hamas sources. Hamas had claimed that there was no such tape or plan.

Abbas also blamed Hamas for the closure of the Rafah crossing, located between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (Gaza's only gateway with the rest of the world), and the suffering that the closure has caused.

Moreover, Abbas reiterated his refusal to hold dialogue with Hamas. "We have emphasized that no dialogue will be made with the mutineers as long as the coup's impact is not over," he stressed.

Hamas denouces Abbas' stinging criticism as "inappropriate" 

Date: 19 / 07 / 2007 Time: 11:14

Gaza - Ma'an - 

The Hamas movement on Thursday described Palestinian President Abbas' address before the PLO Central Council as "inappropriate" and full of "abusive" terminology which does not suit a Palestinian president.

"Such criticism will not defame the Hamas leaders," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri assured. "However, it harms only the reputation of the Palestinian president who accepted to use such terminology in describing the leaders of the Palestinian people."

Abu Zuhri reiterated his movement's rejection of early elections. He said, "These will be illegal elections as they are not based on law or Palestinian unanimity."

"Consequently, the president could issue a decree calling for early elections, yet that decree will remain useless as these elections cannot be conducted in light of the absence of a national agreement on that."

Abu Zuhri depicted the Palestine Liberation Organization's Central Council as an "illegitimate institution" which is not authorized to decide on the Palestinian interests since that council does not represent all the Palestinian factions, and the Cairo and Mecca agreements calling for the restructuring of the PLO has not been implemented. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not part of the PLO but the Cairo and Mecca agreements called for their inclusion.

"Hamas considers very seriously the president's declarations about the need to punish them [Hamas], and the part when he said that the movement's leaders have dug their graves by their own hands," Abu Zuhri added.

Abu Zuhri also accused the Palestinian Authority of being complicit in a "conspiracy" against Hamas. "We are actually facing a conspiracy aimed at targeting Hamas and its leaders, in which the Palestinian Authority is a partner," he added.

Abbas will issue decrees for early legislative elections 

Wednesday July 18, 2007 22:13 by Rashid Hilal – IMEMC saed at imemc dot org

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Wednesday that the issue of early legislative and presidential elections will be disused by the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and that decrees for early elections will be issued in the near future.

In a press release in Ramallah following his meeting with Javier Solana, the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Abbas said that he is pleased with the cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and the European Union.

He added that the upcoming Quartet meeting will discuss the Israeli-Palestinian talks, and that the US President George Bush also called for an international summit next fall.

Abbas also said that he and Solana also discussed his recent meeting with Olmert, and stated that the Palestinian leadership will continue its efforts to advance the peace process.

Abbas stated that the Palestinians always asked for an international conference, and expressed hope that the upcoming conference will lead to advancing the peace process.

He also said that he informed Solana on the harsh conditions the Palestinians are facing, especially the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip which is totally isolated from the rest of the World.

Commenting on the Hamas control in Gaza, Abbas told Solana that what Hamas did is a coup against legitimacy, and that he will not hold any talks with Hamas unless its ends its coup, adding that the early elections will be called for in the near future.

Hamas rejects the early elections and considers them as a coup against it since it won the vast majority of the legislative council seats during last years’ elections. The international embargo and the Israeli siege paralyzed the conducts of the government, even after a unity deal was signed with Fateh.

On his part, Solana stated that the European Union supports Abbas and the Palestinian people, adding that there will be initiative for peace in the coming days.

It is worth mentioning that the Quartet committee (The US, EU, UN and Russia) will convene on Wednesday.

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