 Taking a tough stand, President Mahmoud Abbas vowed yesterday to end internal armed chaos but warned that the Middle East conflict would not end until the Palestinians were granted independence. In a televised address the day after Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian president pledged to address the anarchy which pervaded large parts of that territory and the West Bank.
| Yeah. I vow to get rid of this gut, too. And to grow my hair back. And to spend an evening naked with Patty Ann Brown. |
However, the Hamas movement made it clear that it would not surrender its weapons and vowed to intensify attacks against Israel in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want to have the capital of their future state.
| That's because they can't think of anything else to do... |
Rampant insecurity in Gaza threatens to become a major stumbling block for the Palestinian case for statehood.
| The world doesn't need another Somalia? But states like that are so rare! |
âWe will no longer tolerate from this day the security anarchy, the armed chaos and the kidnappings,â Abbas said. âThe principle that unites us is that we have one authority, one law and one legal weapon,â he said, referring to the arms of the Palestinian security services.
| Pretty spunky, coming from somebody of whom it's surprising he's not dead yet... |
Mahmoud Zahar responded by pledging that âour weapons will remain in our hands until the Palestinian flag is hoisted in Jerusalem. The West Bank awaits the jihad and martyrdom, and Jerusalem should expect more resistance.â Abbas has repeatedly criticized the use of weapons during the five-year uprising but fighter groups have vowed to retain their arms and continue attacks against Israel despite the pullout from Gaza. |