Abbas: “We Delayed Goldstone Report To Recruit More Support”

Monday October 12, 2009 06:49 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Sunday that the decision to delay the UN vote on the report of Judge Richard Goldstone was made to recruit more support, and that this decision was made after consultations with different groups at the UN Human Rights Council.

In a TV speech, Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority wants to recruit more support to the report to order to ensure that it is not emptied from its political dimension. “I do not want to provide details on the circumstances, and the positions of different countries and groups, this is up to the investigation committee”, Abbas said, “We will abide by the results of the committee, and if it found that the delay is a mistake, we have the courage to admit that we were wrong”. He added that the campaign that was launched against the delay aims at avoiding signing an internal unity deal, in addition to striking the chances of a unity deal, and is regarded as an attempt to weaken and cause a collapse to the Palestinian Authority. As for ending internal rifts and divisions, Abbas said that the only way to resolve this issue is elections, so that the people can choose their leadership. He further stated that there will be no peace deal that does not include ending the occupation, and that the peace process should be based on the resolutions of the international community and the principles set by U.S. President Barack Obama.

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