|
Abbas Resigns From Fatah Central Committee
 |
|
Abbas came under harsh criticism over his approach with Israel
|
Additional
Reporting By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff
GAZA
CITY, July 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmmoud Abbas has resigned from the Fatah party central
committee, a Palestinian senior official said Tuesday night, July 8.
Abbas
presented his letter of resignation to Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat, who has yet to say whether he accepted it, said the official,
who requested anonymity.
Fatah's
Secretary General in Gaza City Ahmad Halas told IslamOnline.net that
Abbas came under diatribe during a stormy meeting of the committee's
members on Tuesday over his approach with Israel, especially on the
issue of prisoner releases.
He
said that members of the committee expressed dismay about Abbas'
moderate approach on the issue of Palestinian prisoners and the
Israeli incessant aggression on the Palestinian people.
Abbas,
who helped co-found Fatah four decades ago, was to have met with
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday, July 9, but scrapped
the meeting.
Sources
close to Abbas said he had pulled out of the summit scheduled for
Wednesday in protest at the Israeli government's handling of the
controversial issue of prisoners releases.
However,
the Fatah central committee unanimously rejected Abbas's resignation,
a senior Fatah official and committee member said.
In
a separate letter to the central committee, the prime minister
challenged the organization to outline a different policy toward the
Israeli government and said he was ready to step down if his own line
was at fault.
Palestinian
ministers have been angered by an Israeli government decision Sunday,
July 8, to pave the way for the release of just 350 Palestinian
prisoners, representing little more than five percent of those
currently in detention.
"If
Abbas were to resign, that would be the result of Israeli pressure
because he secured a ceasefire, whereas Israel seems to want to
provoke a (Palestinian) civil war," Sakher Habash, a fellow
member of Fatah's central committee, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
United States, for its part, reaffirmed its support for Abbas
after his resignation.
"Our
position is that we stand behind prime minister Abbas,"
said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker.
"What
we have seen under his leadership is ... constructive change ...
empowerment for Palestinian governing institutions taking place, and
his efforts to end terror and violence have presented a real
opportunity to move forward," Reeker said.
|
