Hamas Representatives Slam Palestinian President

Text of unattributed report from Gaza headlined “Bahar: Abbas pursues coup on PNA constitution”, carried in English by pro-Hamas Palestinian Information Centre website on 21 June

Acting PLC speaker Dr. Ahmad Bahar has accused PNA chief Mahmoud Abbas of pursuing a coup against the PNA constitution, the PLC, and the PNA basic law, adding that Abbas’s “illegal” decrees were plain circumvention on the Palestinian legitimacy. Bahar was reacting to Abbas’s speech before the PLO’s central council where he (Abbas) assaulted the legitimate Palestinian resistance, and justified his “illegal” decrees of dissolving the elected PNA unity government and appointing an emergency government without the approval of the PNA parliament.

He also charged Abbas of attempting to topple and cancel role of the PLC in favour of the PLO’s national council, which, he said, was paralysed and remained futile since 1996 in clear violation of the PNA basic law. He also confirmed that the PLC was able to hold 19 sessions despite the IOF troops’ arrest of 44 Hamas lawmakers, while, the last time the PLO’s central council convened was in 1996 with the aim to renounce the PLO’s charter.

Impolite speech full of lies: But Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri was clear enough in describing Abbas’s speech as “rude and full of lies”, accusing the PNA chief of leading a scheme to isolate Hamas Movement. He also shrugged off Abbas’s story on Hamas’s “conspiracy” to kill him, saying Hamas was prudent enough and won’t do such a thing, explaining that the videotape was showing a group of Hamas’s fighters digging a tunnel to trap the IOF troops.

Hamas resorted to the tunnel tactics few years ago after it proved effectiveness in hitting the IOF troops as evident with its stunning armed attack dubbed as “vanished illusion” in which Palestinian resistance fighters captured IOF serviceman Gilad Shalit a year ago.

In this regard, Abu Zuhri also accused Abbas of implicitly approving the ongoing crimes against Hamas cadres at the hands of his security forces in the West Bank, saying that Abbas didn’t condemn such heinous acts. “The coming days will prove that they (Abbas and his retinue) were wagering on the wrong horse”, Abu Zuhri said, adding that Abbas’ words in the speech were clear enough to unveil the security plan against Hamas Movement.

Yet, Abu Zuhri added, “It seems that matters will continue in this direction till one day Abbas wakes up and his security empire falls in the West Bank as it fell in Gaza Strip”.

The Popular Resistance Committees, one of the Palestinian resistance factions, has also deplored Abbas’s speech and accused him of conniving to split Gaza Strip from the West Bank in accordance with USA and Israeli wishes.

People’s legitimacy: For his part, Jamal Al-Jarrah, general- commander of the PNA interior ministry’s executive force affirmed that his group’s legitimacy was derived from the Palestinian people and not from Abbas. He was apparently reacting to Abbas’s decree of dissolving the force although it enjoys distinguished reputation in the Palestinian street.

“The executive force doesn’t await Abbas and his associates to bestow legitimacy on it as the Palestinian people that bestowed such legitimacy on the force are aware of the voluminous pain inflicted on them by Abbas and his group over the past two decades”, said Al- Jarrah.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.