| Pressure mounts on Abbas to quit | |||
A senior member of Hamas has demanded that the Palestinian president resign for supporting the postponement of a UN vote which could have led to the prosecution of Israel for war crimes during its campaign in Gaza. Mahmoud al-Zahar told Al Jazeera that Mahmoud Abbas was guilty of “a very big crime against the Palestinian people” over the Palestinian Authority’s support to defer endorsing the report, which was highly critical of Israel’s conduct during the Gaza war. “He is encouraging the Israeli military leaders to attack Gaza, to kill Hamas, and to kill people because they voted for Hamas; to postpone a very important report concerning the Israelis committing crimes against human beings,” al-Zahar said on Monday. “He should resign and he should seek a fair trial. He is not representing any of the Palestinian people.” West Bank protest |
“[The decision] was a knife in the backs and in the hearts of all the martyrs,” Jamal al-Jumaa, a protester, said.
Protests were also held in Jerusalem, where pro-Palestinian activists demanded an apology from Abbas.
“If the government had anything to do with the decision we want it to resign,” Muhammad Jadallah, the head of the Coalition for Jerusalem, said.
Thirty-two Palestinian groups in Europe also called on Abbas to immediately step down from office.
In a statement, the groups said “the step to delay the endorsement was not less dangerous than the atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza”.
Abbas defence
The adoption of the report by the 49-member UN Human Rights Council was seen as a key step towards eventually bringing war crimes charges against Israeli leaders and Palestinian fighters at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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| Abbas denies he is to blame for delaying the UN vote to endorse the Goldstone report [AFP] |
The 575-page report blamed both the Israeli military and the Palestinian fighters for war crimes during Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip between December and January, but was more critical of Israeli troops for “targeting and terrorising civilians”. But the council on Friday deferred endorsement of the report until March, as requested by sponsors of the resolution, acting on behalf of the Palestinians.
Critics have alleged that Abbas bowed to US pressure on the resolution, but the Palestinian president on Sunday dismissed the criticism.
“The issue of postponing the vote didn’t come from us – we are not members of this international organisation [UN Human Rights Council],” he said.
“I believe all the Arab brothers are members of the organisation and they all know very well that the postponement of the vote happened with their knowledge and approval.”
Mounting anger
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from the West Bank, said human rights organisations and Palestinian political factions – including the president’s own Fatah movement – had been escalating their expressions of anger and condemnation about their leadership’s decision to support the withdrawal.
And many questions were being asked about how the crisis would affect ongoing efforts to reach national reconciliation.
Hamas, which has de facto control of Gaza and is the main political rival to Abbas’s Fatah faction, has appeared to rule out reconciliation under the present circumstances.
Egypt has invited Hamas and Fatah to Cairo for negotiations on October 26 towards the formation of a national unity government, but al-Zahar said that the PA’s position on the Goldstone report made such a meeting futile.
“I personally would prefer to postpone it because we cannot sit down with this criminal who made such mistakes to the degree of killing our people,” he said.
There has been strong dissension within Fatah over the delay as well, with an unnamed official saying “the consent to defer the vote had cost us dear. We’ll need years to fix this mistake”.
Salam Fayyad, Abbas’s prime minister, has demanded the report’s recommendations be implemented in full, while Ali Jarbawi, the Palestinian planning minister, expressed his “surprise” over the consent to postpone the vote.
Abbas has also drawn criticism from Syria, which postponed his planned visit to Damascus in a gesture of protest.
During the three-week Gaza war, more than 1,400 Palestinians – one-third of them women and children – were killed while Israel lost 10 soldiers and three civilians.
Desertpeace 
Andy said,
October 6, 2009 at 19:50
During the bombing of Gaza I thought that Abbas should put an end to his miserable life in shame but now I believe that he should be dragged to the Hague to find out how deeply he was involved in the whole Israeli aggression. Mr. Abbas, I recommend that you step down from your position as president and find some place to hide from the storm that you have created.
Felestini said,
October 7, 2009 at 04:40
Abbas is doing an incredible disservice to the Palestinian people. It doesn’t get worse than Abbas. There is nothing he can do or say, he will never be fit for the job at hand. Must speak english, make a case, be stubborn and stick to his case. Abbas is a total joke. Abbas, you don’t need to sell me anything but instead, bring our case in front of the world in terms they understand. You’ll never be able to accomplish this and as a matter of fact, you are so worthless that you’ll never be able to sell me a dollar for pennies. You are a joke and there are 2 year olds that are way more qualified than you.
Felestini said,
October 7, 2009 at 04:49
I won’t even spit in Abbas’s face for it would be an insult to me for taking him too seriously. If he’s not doing Israel a service he wouldn’t still be where he’s at. Did anybody see him give speeches at the white house? He might just as well piss there and might get better result. A simple picture would be better than him there. The right tool for the job and Abbas isn’t it.
hans said,
October 7, 2009 at 07:31
Heroic sons and daughters of Palesine what must you’ll do to get rid of these spineless puppets. You know the elections will be compromised to show that Fatah will have won the elections. Abbas must face the ICC same as the Zionist leaders, at least the Zionist believe their cause and do not sell short their own people.
brian said,
October 7, 2009 at 08:09
jewish israelis want him ,palestinians dont…..that alone tells us all we need to know about Abbas!
Benny Adam said,
October 7, 2009 at 13:28
His ridiculousness is stunningly obvious! The only reason the Israeli’s want to deal with him and only him is because HE IS THEIR MAN. He will sell out his own people, his own soul, and continue to harm the innocent because of money. Plain and simple. He is bought and paid for in full.
At this point, I will say that it SHOULD be a Palestinian who assassinates him. He has caused so much pain and suffering to his own people that it should be these same people that finish him.
On the other hand, if he is tried in the ICC and sentenced to rot in prison for a long time that may be good, providing that IF he is ever released, a Palestinian will take his life.
The reward (for good deeds and bad) of this life is in this life (if you’re lucky) and whatever happens after this life is a bonus.