Abbas greets Gazans live on television; promises to exert all efforts to stop massacre

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Date: 31 / 12 / 2008 Time: 18:57



Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas greeted the population of the Gaza Strip in a live speech on Palestine’s official satellite network wishing them patience, tolerance and victory.

Putting his hand on the holy Qur’an Abbas swore to faithfully and wisely protect the confidences vested in him. He promised to see the 40-year history of the Palestinian cause through. From the first martyr of Palestinian history to the last martyr in Gaza, Abbas said, he will follow up the Palestinian dream until freedom and an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital are realized.

“Palestine will remain the mother of martyrs and sacrifices until the day it enforces its freedom and becomes a state for all Palestinians despite Israeli aggression and stubbornness,” he said.

Abbas described the current situation in Gaza as a massacre and an act of criminal aggression targeting not only the basic rights of Gazans but of all Palestinians. Israelis have used Palestinian blood in Gaza for their election propaganda, he said, and explained that he holds the Israeli government accountable for the atrocities being committed.

Abbas reiterated that all efforts at all levels are being made to halt that Israeli aggression and relieve the Gaza Strip through opening all its crossing points and letting the people live in dignity and security. We want to avoid the death and torture of our children, he said.

A ceasefire, he said, would be a noble way to achieve the goals of all sides and cancel all pretexts for any continued aggression.

http://maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34449

[ProgressiveMuslim]

1. Looks like Abu Mazen is veering from the US/Israel talking points memo~!

[ProgressiveMuslim]

2. Fatah leader tells Hamas to return weapons to willing fighters

Date: 31 / 12 / 2008 Time: 11:44

Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah leader Ziad Abu Ein called on Hamas to return confiscated weapons to Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ein made the statement during a Wednesday television interview with Manar Lebanese TV. He estimated that there are more than 70,000 militants affiliated with Fatah in the area, and said their weapons had been confiscated by Hamas during the factional fighting in 2007 and 2008.

It is now time for those weapons to be returned, he said, so Fatah fighters can defend Gazans against Israeli crimes.


http://maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34431

[bemildred]

3. Clever.

I expect there will be some argument about the chain of command.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

4. Nonetheless, I think there is far less dissension on the streets than Western press reports.

[bemildred]

5. Hard to tell out here in TV land.

Pending an end to the bombing etc., well an end to the war, by whatever means, I don't see how the political situation inside Gaza could be clear to anyone, and given the constant barrage of bullshit, I'm not willing to hazard a guess. They can't be doing too many high quality polls.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

6. It's the West Bank response I find pretty heartening.

[bemildred]

7. Yeah, they don't seem too confused.

I'm sure that's why Abu Mazen is on the TV here.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

9. I think today's posturing is an about-face for him.

[bemildred]

10. Well, it seems like a change.

He is trying to rally support, trying to make himself more agreeable to a wider Palestinian audience, maybe some Hamas supporters, say, which I interpret to mean he thinks he needs to. OTOH, he pretty much has to make noise in this situation or else admit he is irrelevant. The same of course, applies to politicians of all stripes on all "sides". So I don't think I would try to read too much into it.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

12. 8 more days... Clock is ticking.

[bemildred]

13. Well, I think that will probably be ignored or papered over with bullshit.

I'd sort of stopped thinking about that. Maybe an emergency declaration or something. But it will be interesting to see what happens. There are a lot of balls up in the air now, and nobody seems to quite know what to do next; so unless the IDF decides to invade Gaza, or something similar, a political insurrection somewhere, I expect things will grind along like this for a while.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

14. True that. Nonetheless, his future is entirely cloudy.

[bemildred]

15. He's toast, politically, as things stand.

The fellow in post #11 probably has the right idea, and if Hamas agrees to re-arm Fatah, that might even work for him a while, but I doubt they will. In fact, if they do, they deserve what they are going to get. The basis of that argument, that arming Fatah could help defend Gaza, is erroneous, Gaza cannot be defended militarily with the means at hand, it has no adequate logistics support, for example. If Gaza could be re-supplied with men and arms, it might be possible to turn it into one hell of a mess for the IDF, at the cost of many, many lives, but I see no way to do that. Hamas might consider re-arming Fatah members under their own command structure, I don't doubt they need fresh cannon fodder. That might even be likely to occur.

All Hamas can do is the sort of military theatrics which they have been doing, and it would be hubris for them to aspire to more without some improvement in their situation otherwise. Of course the IDF has no incentive to allow that.

What amazes me is they have no economy, they rely almost totally on outside help, outside money.

[customerserviceguy]

11. He's trying to trick Hamas into re-arming his fighters

The end game here is that Israel will turn Gaza over to Fatah. Abbas makes noises about opposing Israel, but he knows that is what the average ordinary Gazan wants to hear. Once he comes back to Gaza in triumph, he will bring food, medicine, and rebuilding aid back to the Strip, and all will be forgotten.

If it's not, well, they'll be sure to build some prisons, too.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

17. He means the handful that Hamas did not already kill or imprison

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[oberliner]

18. What do you think of Abbas?

You've been critical of Fatah in the past - are you supportive of Abbas now?

Do you think there will be a joint Fatah-Hamas governing coalition any time in the future?

[shira]

19. Abbas has to say this or lose Gazan support

Abbas cannot be seen supporting the "zionist" cause against Hamas. Remember, what's good for Israel cannot ever be good for Palestinian interests. Abbas wants Hamas overthrown.

[azurnoir]

20. Not the OP but i think Abbas has been quite clearly set up

by Israel in the role of collaborator and this statement is trying to clean that up as it were whether or not he is successful is another thing entirely, I would not hold my breath for Hamas fighters to "turn their guns over" to Fatah as there is a good chance Fatah would immediately turn those guns on Hamas, no this is nothing more than weak political show.