Abbas dissolves Palestinian government
jlew24asu
Posts: 10,118
this really sucks because I thought Abbas was the only one who truly wanted peace. this is a huge step backwards.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the Islamic militant group vanquished its
Fatah rivals and effectively took control of the
Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Fearful that Hamas' momentum could spread to the
West Bank, Fatah went on the offensive there, rounding up three dozen Hamas fighters. Angry militants threw office furniture out a third-story window of the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, then set fire to the office of three Hamas lawmakers. A Hamas activist was shot and killed in Nablus, the first person to be killed in the West Bank after days of violence in Gaza; the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, claimed responsibility.
It was a day of major victories for Hamas and its backers in
Iran and
Syria — and of devastating setbacks for the Western-backed Fatah. In one particularly humiliating scene, masked Hamas fighters marched agents of the once-feared Preventive Security Service out of their headquarters, arms raised in the air, stripped to the waist and ducking at the sound of a gunshot.
The violence has killed at least 90 people in the past five days, including 33 on Thursday alone. Witnesses, Fatah officials and a doctor reported executions by Hamas militants of defeated Fatah fighters Thursday; Fatah said seven of its men were shot in the head gangland-style. Hamas denied any such killings.
Abbas, of Fatah, fired the Hamas prime minister and said he would install a new government, replacing the Hamas-Fatah coalition formed just three months ago. Abbas' decrees won't reverse the Hamas takeover of Gaza. Instead, his moves will enable Fatah to consolidate its control over the West Bank, likely paving the way for two separate Palestinian governments.
Because Fatah has recognized
Israel's right to exist and signed on to past peace agreements, the international community's boycott of the Palestinian territories in the wake of Hamas' electoral successes may no longer apply to the West Bank — just to Gaza. Some 2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, while 1.4 million reside in Gaza.
Hamas' success has thrown into turmoil everything from Mideast peacemaking to Palestinian statehood to relations with Israel and the West.
"The era of justice and Islamic rule has arrived," Hamas spokesman Islam Shahawan said.
Fatah's old demons — corruption, petty quarreling, lack of leadership — led to its dismal performance. While disciplined Hamas systematically hoarded weapons, Fatah's Gaza leader, Mohammed Dahlan, preferred travel and West Bank politics to preparing for the inevitable showdown with the Islamic militants. Dahlan returned Thursday from Egypt, where he stayed several weeks after knee surgery. But instead of going to Gaza, he headed for Ramallah.
Many West Bank Palestinians, watching the fall of Gaza on their TV screens, pinned the blame on Abbas, whom they see as indecisive and detached. During Hamas's assaults in Gaza this week, no prominent Fatah leader was in the coastal strip to take command.
"Hamas has leadership, a goal, an ideology and funding," said Gaza analyst Talal Okal. "Fatah has neither leadership, nor a goal, a vision or money."
By capturing Gaza City's three main security compounds and the southern town of Rafah, Hamas secured its hegemony in Gaza, putting Islamic extremists in control there. Hamas seized its final target, Abbas' Gaza City headquarters, late Thursday, according to witnesses.
For first time since fighting erupted five days ago, Abbas issued an order to strike back. But his words were too little, too late.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas' decisions have "no value" on the ground.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz vowed not to let the takeover of Gaza spill over
continued.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the Islamic militant group vanquished its
Fatah rivals and effectively took control of the
Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Fearful that Hamas' momentum could spread to the
West Bank, Fatah went on the offensive there, rounding up three dozen Hamas fighters. Angry militants threw office furniture out a third-story window of the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, then set fire to the office of three Hamas lawmakers. A Hamas activist was shot and killed in Nablus, the first person to be killed in the West Bank after days of violence in Gaza; the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, claimed responsibility.
It was a day of major victories for Hamas and its backers in
Iran and
Syria — and of devastating setbacks for the Western-backed Fatah. In one particularly humiliating scene, masked Hamas fighters marched agents of the once-feared Preventive Security Service out of their headquarters, arms raised in the air, stripped to the waist and ducking at the sound of a gunshot.
The violence has killed at least 90 people in the past five days, including 33 on Thursday alone. Witnesses, Fatah officials and a doctor reported executions by Hamas militants of defeated Fatah fighters Thursday; Fatah said seven of its men were shot in the head gangland-style. Hamas denied any such killings.
Abbas, of Fatah, fired the Hamas prime minister and said he would install a new government, replacing the Hamas-Fatah coalition formed just three months ago. Abbas' decrees won't reverse the Hamas takeover of Gaza. Instead, his moves will enable Fatah to consolidate its control over the West Bank, likely paving the way for two separate Palestinian governments.
Because Fatah has recognized
Israel's right to exist and signed on to past peace agreements, the international community's boycott of the Palestinian territories in the wake of Hamas' electoral successes may no longer apply to the West Bank — just to Gaza. Some 2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, while 1.4 million reside in Gaza.
Hamas' success has thrown into turmoil everything from Mideast peacemaking to Palestinian statehood to relations with Israel and the West.
"The era of justice and Islamic rule has arrived," Hamas spokesman Islam Shahawan said.
Fatah's old demons — corruption, petty quarreling, lack of leadership — led to its dismal performance. While disciplined Hamas systematically hoarded weapons, Fatah's Gaza leader, Mohammed Dahlan, preferred travel and West Bank politics to preparing for the inevitable showdown with the Islamic militants. Dahlan returned Thursday from Egypt, where he stayed several weeks after knee surgery. But instead of going to Gaza, he headed for Ramallah.
Many West Bank Palestinians, watching the fall of Gaza on their TV screens, pinned the blame on Abbas, whom they see as indecisive and detached. During Hamas's assaults in Gaza this week, no prominent Fatah leader was in the coastal strip to take command.
"Hamas has leadership, a goal, an ideology and funding," said Gaza analyst Talal Okal. "Fatah has neither leadership, nor a goal, a vision or money."
By capturing Gaza City's three main security compounds and the southern town of Rafah, Hamas secured its hegemony in Gaza, putting Islamic extremists in control there. Hamas seized its final target, Abbas' Gaza City headquarters, late Thursday, according to witnesses.
For first time since fighting erupted five days ago, Abbas issued an order to strike back. But his words were too little, too late.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas' decisions have "no value" on the ground.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz vowed not to let the takeover of Gaza spill over
continued.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Probably not. In my opinion the biggest mistake Israel ever made was not offering more support for Abbas. Israel continued to paint Fatah into a corner which allowed Hamas to win control of the government. Had Israel not been so damn stubborn and hardline when it came to dealing with Fatah and offered up a cooperative effort in dealing with the fringe element in Palestine they could have been much closer to peace than they are now.
I stay outta these threads. They're throat cutters.
They are only throat cutters when you get people who only want to see one side of the issue arguing back and forth.
ok so now it is what it is. Israel has said they will not talk to hamas until they take the "destruction of Israel" from their charter.
will hamas do this?
or will Israel move past that, and try to compromise ?
I see it getting worse before it gets better.
Hamas is never going to compramise because Hamas is a terrorist organization with a political wing to it. What Israel needs to do is help Abbas and Fatah do what needs to get done in order to get moderate Palestinians into power and aid the Palestinian authorities in rounding up terrorists.
The problem, in my opinion, has always been that Israel expects Fatah to stop Hamas and other militant groups. When Fatah can't because these organizations are better armed and staffed that the authorities, Israel proceeds to bomb the hell out of Palestinian neighborhoods creating hostility not just towards Israel but towards the more moderate Fatah. Israel needs to work with Fatah not agaisnt them because Fatah is their best chance for peace.
I agree.
There is still a chance. A small one but I believe it can still be done.
All we can do now is hope that cooler heads prevail and some stability returns to the region in the near future.
I've heard this argument before and I think it makes a lot of sense.
Israel is now bordered by Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in Gaza. This is not a good thing.
The Middle East is really in a shit storm these days. It's quite depressing. I don't think that Arabs as human beings are any different than anybody else. Look at all the death and destruction that has been strewn across Europe for the past 1,000 years before stable, democratic nation-states have emerged. I think the Middle East is engaged in this now, and nobody knows when the dust will finally settle. One thing is for sure though; no matter how much Westerners don't want to accept it, the only way to resolve this problem is by eliminating those who are too hard-lined to compromise for peace. This goes for people on both sides, becuase there are fundamentalist sects for the Israeli's and the Arabs.
Unfortunately going by past performance, I'm not all that optimistic that there even are any cooler heads in this mess.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln