Hamas Rejects Abbas Appeal Of Peace With Israel

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Hamas Rejects Abbas Appeal Of Peace With Israel
Topic Started: Feb 18 2006, 05:30 PM (223 Views)
Wil	Feb 18 2006, 05:30 PM Post #1
Administrator Posts: 12,669 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: September 21, 2005	Abbas to Hamas: Respect accords with Israel Hamas spokesman rejects call to recognize agreements made by Arafat Saturday, February 18, 2006; Posted: 1:21 p.m. EST (18:21 GMT) RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the opening session of the new Hamas-majority parliament Saturday, urging the Islamic militants to recognize previous peace agreements with Israel. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, after the address, said his group understands Abbas' position regarding Israel, but it is sticking to its position. Hamas, which now controls 74 of 132 seats in the parliament, has called for the destruction of Israel and opposes being bound by accords signed under the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. "We declared our position from the first, and there is no change," Zuhri said. In his address, Abbas praised the democratic process that brought Hamas to power on January 25, an election that ousted his own Fatah Party from power, but he condemned Hamas' suicide attacks against Israelis. "There is no military solution to this conflict," Abbas said. "In order to achieve security, you must have peace." He called for "an end to this vicious circle of violence." Abbas insisted he remained committed to the internationally backed "road map" to peace, which he said "is based on the establishment of a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side with the state of Israel." Negotiations over a prime minister choice are still under way, and Abbas can reject or approve any candidate put forward by Hamas. (Full story) The Israeli government, at its Sunday cabinet meeting, is expected to consider sanctions against the Palestinian government, including sealing off Gaza from the West Bank and barring thousands of Palestinian workers from entering Israel. Because of Israeli travel restrictions, the opening Palestinian parliament session, with the swearing-in of legislators, was held in both Gaza City and Ramallah, where Abbas was speaking. Of the 48 parliament members being addressed by video conference in Gaza, 31 belong to Hamas. Chosen as new speaker of the Palestinian parliament was a West Bank geography professor, Hamas legislator Abdel Aziz Duaik. Message to Israel In a talk that lasted nearly an hour, Abbas said that Israel must not use the Hamas electoral victory "as a pretext to exercise more aggression against our people." Abbas cited the construction of an "apartheid fence," a reference to what Israel calls a security barrier; the increase in the number of settlement, and assassinations. "If there is anyone who thinks that this kind of measure will force our people to surrender, then they are deluding themselves," he said. "They don't know the Palestinian people and the will and determination of our people to realize their objectives." Regarding the "Jerusalem issue," he said he would reject any attempts by the Israelis to expel its Muslim residents. "This is against international law and has no legitimacy ... Israeli stubbornness regarding Jerusalem will not stop us from realizing our objective, which is the establishment of two states, Palestine and Israel." Abbas also criticized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, incapacitated since suffering a massive stroke in January, accusing him of having declared "an open battle against the Palestinian people and their institutions." Palestinians to return U.S. aid The Palestinian Authority said that it will be returning $50 million in aid to the United States, Abbas' office confirmed on Saturday. The United States wants the money back because it doesn't want it to fall into the hands of the militant group Hamas, the winner of last month's Palestinian parliamentary election and considered a terror organization by the United States, Israel and the European Union . State Department spokesman Sean McCormack spoke about the return of the money at his daily press briefing on Friday. He said the money was being returned "in the interest of seeing that these funds not potentially make their way into the coffers of a future Palestinian government that might not recognize the right of Israel to exist" or that may not meet previously agreed-upon peace process obligations. The U.S. funds were disbursed last year for new infrastructure projects in Gaza to help spur its economy after Israel's withdrawal from the area, he said. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/18/...bbas/index.html



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