Beware: the new boss! Same Old, Same Ole, EveryTime: No Change!

'Abbas step-down will help Palestinian cause'
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:26:54 GMT

Spokesman for the Palestinian Hamas movement, Mushir al-
Masri, says Abbas had better leave leadership to the new generation.

http://www.presstv.ir/photo/20091106/shamseddin20091106221007703.jpg

Hamas says Mahmoud Abbas' departure from his position, as
acting Palestinian Authority Chief will help the Palestinian
cause.

"There are many Palestinians who are ready to take on the
responsibility of leading the Palestinians people," senior
Hamas official Mushir al-Masri said in an inclusive
interview with Press TV on Friday, adding, "Those replacing
Abbas may even elevate the Palestinian cause to the next
level."

The remarks follow a decision by Abbas to not run for re-
election in the January parliamentary and presidential
polls, which he announced last month in the wake of his
failure to reach a reconciliation deal with the Gaza-based
Hamas government.

Senior Israel officials have reportedly appeared to be keen
on Abbas staying in office, while Tel Aviv's closest ally,
the United States, has vowed to keep working with Abbas on
the resumption of the Middle East peace negotiations,
whether he is the Palestinian Authority Chief or not.

Pro-Fatah protesters also took to West Bank streets,
insisting the party's leader Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen,
is the only option to lead the Palestinians.

Gazans, however, seemed to view Abu Mazen's stepping down as
the Palestinian Authority chief as a herald of hope that the
fate of the Palestinian nation would soon change.

"I feel Mr. Mahmoud Abbas' departure from his poison could
cause a real opportunity for the advancement of the
Palestinians cause and the unification of the nation," al-
Masri said.

In a televised speech late on Thursday, Abbas announced his
decision not to run for a second term, blaming Israel and
the United States over the stalemate in Mideast peace talks,
stressing his decision was not a maneuver.

He expressed disappointment with US President Barack Obama's
failure to keep his promise to Palestinians of holding
Israel accountable and compromising on the Arab nation's
rights in favor of Israel and its illegal settlements.

He criticized US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for
praising hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
offer to limit temporary construction in West Bank
settlements to 3,000 additional housing units, which
Palestinians fear could open the door for the further
expansion of Israeli settlements on their lands in the
occupied West Bank.

Under US pressure, Abbas stopped short of announcing the
death of a two-state solution. However, his chief negotiator
Saeb Erekat had earlier warned that the continued expansion
of Israeli settlements could force the Palestinian side to
abandon the two-state solution.

MRS/HGH

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id0613
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for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. The light shineth in darkness;
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But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
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and Christ shall give thee light. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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