Hamas says Abbas' speech is hostile

Wednesday November 12, 2008 04:34 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, slammed the Tuesday speech of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and said that this speech is an attack against Hamas, and that he did not call for lifting the Israeli blockade over Gaza.

Hamas

Hamas media spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, strongly denounced the speech Abbas gave in Ramallah while thousands of Palestinians were commemorating the late President, Yasser Arafat.

Barhoum claimed that Abbas was speaking as the leader of Fateh movement, and not as the leader of the Palestinian people.

He also said that instead of attacking Hamas, Abbas should have called for ending the siege on Gaza, and should have officially demanded Egypt to open the Rafah border terminal.

Hamas movement considered the speech of Abbas as “a destructive blow to dialog” and held him responsible for the consequences.

Ismael Radwan, one of Hamas' political leaders, said that the speech of Abbas is “incitement against Hamas and the Palestinian people”.

Radwan also said that Abbas claimed that Hamas foiled the internal dialog, and added that “the whole world knows who is the liar”.

“The reality says otherwise”, Radwan stated, “Abbas knows very well that he was the one who foiled the talks”, the Palestine-info, a news website affiliated with Hamas, reported.

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