Abbas: Hamas is smuggling weapons into the West Bank
Palestinian leader says his people not interested in armed conflict, accuses Hamas of cracking down on Gaza militants while encouraging them in his territory.
By Jack Khoury Tags: Israel news Mahmoud Abbas Hamas Palestinians
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday accused the rival Hamas movement of smuggling weapons into the West Bank territory under his control.
"On the one hand, the organization is punishing those who launch rockets in Gaza, while at the same time it hoards weapons in the West Bank," the Palestinian leader said in an interview with the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat.
Palestinian security forces routinely discover these caches, Abbas told the newspaper/
Abbas added that the Palestinian people were not interested in armed resistance, despite calls from Syria and Libya last month to return to violence and cut off contact with Israel.
The Palestinian delegation to the Arab League conference where these calls were made voiced their opposition to such means, Abbas told the newspaper. "Every layer of the Palestinian nation opposes this. We support national resistance and the call to boycott products made in settlements, but this does not mean we want to incite against Israel."
The West Bank is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, while the Gaza Strip has been run by Hamas since it ousted the PA in a bloody coup in June 2007.
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Abbas seems to be a man who finally is saying no to Arabs who have been using Palestinian Arabs as pawns and dupes for their own ends since before the creation of Israel. If Palestinian Arabs start doing what is best for them and not what is best for Syria or Egypt or Iran, there is a chance that peace may follow.
The Palestinians, including Hamas, have every right to defend themselves. Hamas has every right to smuggle weapons to the West Bank and Gaza to defend its people against Israeli brutality and savagey. Arguing otherwise is a sign of dishonesty and immorality.
Mr.Abbas please finsh the senten,Hamas is smuggling arms into the West bank and plans to take over the West bank Immediately after Israel withdraws and then plunge the whole region into war as it rockets Tel-Aviv
All talk, no proof. Hamas can hardly smuggle food INTO Gaza let alone smuggle weapons from Gaza across Israel into the WB, or do they do it through Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan then the WB. Mr. Abbas should at least try to make some sense out of his nonsense.
israel needs to stop its blockade in order to live in peace without those Mickey Mouse Firework called "Rockets”. What does israel expect from Starving the People of Gaza?
that we are not interested in a conflict without being taken as a complete liar.
The imprisonment and devastation of Gaza, the destruction of its economy, more than 1000`s dead, illegal use of weapons, illegal settlements, and now Israel’s infernal wall that scars the land; a prison wall that Israel is building around itself with its own people both as prisoners & prison guards. Israel is destroying itself politically & morally from within.
What?....this is so wrong!..wow Abbas..hurry up...take some action...be a leader for once....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
the Palesinian people, being occupied and constantly savaged and tormented by Israel, have evey right to resist their oppressors. Abbas should learn the simple axiom: that freedom is earned, not given at a silver platter. The Americans say: give me freedom or give me death. Also, no amount of nonviolent resistance would convince Israel to give up apartheid. Israel only understands the language of resistance.
Noor , a lot of good the language of resistance has done for the Palestinains in the past. What have they gained. How about trying the language of peace without demands and preconditions and building trust and a nation first. Your ideas are typical of the reason why the Palestinians today still do not have a state and why they are a divided people living on handouts and the charity of the world. You have tried death now try freedom. It might help if you did not use the old tired words like "occupied , constantly savaged, tormented and apartheid" This is the mindset that is keeping your people down. You want another try at violent resistance go ahead it will be another 60 years not having a state to call your own.
And what happened when Israel evacuated Gaza? Rockets, rockets, and more rockets, which lead to a blockade and a military operation in which hundreds of poor Palestinians died. What for?? The Palestinian people can achieve freedom by uniting and using their brains rather than by means of violence just as the Israelis can achieve security with a political settlement rather than military force and collective punishment. You say Israel only understands resistance. Well, the same is said for the Palestinians in Israel, "they only understand force." Obviously this cycle of violence is leading no where so why perpetuate it??
It's hard to take someone like yourself seriously when it's apparent you are either dishonest or misinformed. There is no semblance of anything like an apartheid in Israel. Please be honest and/or do your research.
When you talk about resistance, I hope you also justly consider the resistance of Jewish people in Israel against being bombed and rocketed and swallowed up by the Muslim hordes around them. Now that's some resistance!
Part of a Peace deal with Abbas should include Israeli / PLO coalition forces completely dismantle Hamas''s military capability. If Abbas were smart, he would bring this up as well to the Israeli side, they both serve to gain from a destroyed Hamas entity, and Hamas can no longer say it is "resisting" when it's PLO that is forcing them to come under PLO rule via Israel's military. Abbas is stronger than Hamas than he realizes, he just needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Israel and PLO agreeing on security would be Hamas's worst nightmare, as it delegitimizes Hamas's primary cause to even exist in the first place. This cuts off Iran's influence over Palestinians at it's heart.
You think Israel didn't consider intervening in June 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza throwing Fatah men from the tops of buildings? Of course they did, but they decided, together with Abbas, that any concrete military collaboration between the IDF and Fatah would only vindicate those Pals who claim - even on this talkback - that Abbas is a puppet of the 'colonialists'. Some people are so unintelligent that they said that of Nelson Mandela, too...
So why doesn't the PA stop them. They say they are going to declare are state, but they don't talk like a government.
This is only a ploy to further delegitimize Hamas in the eyes of the Int'l community and within his own people. Hamas has been holding up its end of the bargain with crackdowns on radical extremists, in turn they are looking more and more like a legitimate political force which Abbas sees as a threat. Hamas can't smuggle basic necessities into Gaza, let alone to the WB. Furthermore, the WB borders are controlled by Israel's watchful eyes. Again this is all just bs.
Abbas always proved himself to be puppet of Zionist Regime.. so there is nothing new in this comment.
So they are obviously intended to be used to overthrow the PA
as they do and did with everyone... its beyond me, why fatah seeks dialogue with them. either west bank goes its own way, or they go nowhere... dont look at them, dont even turn around, go ahead...
Bravo for being a leader who seeks long-term peace for his people and who guides his own people in a good direction. i hope Bibi will appreciate this opportunity to have someone worthy of negotiation from the other side.
Im certain that ordinary palestinians are not interested in any armed conflict, no matter what they are those who pay the price. But I'm more than certain that they do not mind the discouragement having arms gives to their enemies. And when finally the conflict blossoms they sure would love some iron to defend them self with.