Palestinian factions call on Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza

Thursday November 08, 2007 17:20 by PNN - IMEMC News

A number of Palestinian factions have called on the Hamas movement, currently in control of the Gaza Strip, to relinquish power in the interesst of Palestinian unity.

The call came during a symposium organized by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City.

The factions called for a return to comprehensive national talks based on the national unity document and the Cairo declaration in order to resolve the current crisis. They hope this would lead to a transitional government, paving the way for early presidential and legislative elections in the Palestinian territories. 

They called on the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to revoke previous presidential decrees condemning Hamas, in order to reach a compromise between Abbas' Fateh party and the rival Hamas, which won last year's election in Palestine. They also stated that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and should be reformed to build the national government of Palestine.

Saleh Zeidan, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that the latest tour of US secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region indicated that the US focus is on the security of Israel, rather than the human rights of the Palestinians. He stated that the priority of the upcoming Annapolis summit, scheduled for November 26th, would be the implementation of the first stage of the US-brokered road map to peace. 

Zeidan added the International conference in Annapolis could be turned into a public relations stunt, and an attempt to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab countries, while maintaining the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. He said that in order to represent the Palestinian position during the Annapolis conference, the Palestinian factions need to come together in national unity.

In order to achieve national unity, Zeidan called for a comprehensive national dialogue, which would require Hamas to step back and review its stance

Hisham Abed Al Razeq, a member of the Fatah revolutionary Council, said that the Palestinians are suffering from the American policy that supports Israel. He stated that the US aim in holding the peace conference is to pretend there is a state of calm in the region, in order to save itself and to improve its image. He added that there is no unified Arab stance to counteract the US and Israel at the Fall conference, and affirmed that the Israeli government is unwilling to engage in a serious peace process, which would include Israeli withdrawal. He also called for Palestinian national unity.

Dr Muhana Rabah, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, reiterated these statements, and called on Hamas to revoke its hold on the government in the Gaza Strip, and return to a national unity government with Fateh.

And Khalid Al Batsh, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, stated that the upcoming Annapolis summit is merely a ruse that is meant to improve the US public image in the region. He called on Palestinian factions to refuse to engage in normalization of relations with Israel until the occupation ends.

He called for Palestinian national unity through comprehensive talks between the factions. He also called for escalating resistance against Israeli occupation. 

Translated by Manar Jibrin, edited by Jenka Soderberg

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