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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Abbas sends sharp reminder of power to dissolve government |
| 2006-04-25 |
| Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a sharp reminder to Hamas on Monday that he had the power to dissolve the new government, but said he did not want to do so and would give the group more time to embrace peacemaking. Reacting to Abbas' remarks, Hamas threatened to scrap a truce with Israel if the moderate leader removes its month-old government. Long-running political tensions between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement descended into violence in the Occupied Territories over the weekend in shootouts that left more than 30 people wounded. In an interview broadcast Monday on CNN-Turk, Abbas said Hamas must recognize Israel and talk peace to avert an economic catastrophe because of Western sanctions. "Hamas is still acting as if it were in opposition, not in government. It has to face realities, it has to be in contact with Israel to meet the daily needs of the Palestinian people," said Abbas, who is visiting Turkey at the start of a European fundraising tour. "The Constitution gives me clear and definite authority to remove a government from power, but I don't want to use this authority. Everyone should know that by law this power is in my hands," Abbas said. "Hamas has to change some of its political attitudes. Let's wait a while and see if it will change," Abbas told Turkish CNN. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Abbas is still stuck in that "pretend to be a real gov't" mentality. Hamas has no such pretensions. |
| Posted by: BH 2006-04-25 10:12 |