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Abbas Orders Halt of Attacks, No Israeli Letup
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Abbas ordered his security services to prevent “all anti-Israeli attacks.” (Reuters)
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RAMALLAH,
West Bank, January 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – While
Israel declared it would not give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
what it termed “grace time” to move against resistance factions,
Abu Mazen Monday, January 17, ordered his security services to prevent
all anti-Israeli attacks.
Palestinian
resistance faction Hamas, meanwhile, dismissed a demand by the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to halt attacks against
Israel, saying such a call helps Israel justify its military
aggressions in the occupied territories.
“Abu
Mazen has given us orders to prevent any violent acts against
Israel,” a senior security official told Agence France-Presse (AFP),
on condition of anonymity.
He
said the order was given during a meeting with Abbas, Prime Minister
Ahmed Qorei and Interior Minister Hakam Balawi that was attended by
all the heads of the various security services.
Abbas
order followed a statement from the PLO which called for an end to
attacks that “harm the national interest.”
In
his inauguration speech Saturday, January 15, Abu Mazen called for a
mutual ceasefire with Israel and talks on a final peace settlement.
Nonetheless,
Israeli remained adamant saying it would not give Abu Mazen more time
to deal with the resistance factions.
“Abbas
must fight against terrorism and deploy his forces to try to stop the
firing of Qassam rockets and mortars,” a source close to Israeli
Premier Ariel Sharon told AFP, requesting anonymity.
“Israel
will not grant him any grace period to carry this out,” he added.
“Our
forces will continue to operate day and night, without any time limit,
to put a stop to these attacks,” the source added.
Sharon
said Sunday, January 16, he has given his army a carte blanche to
carry out unlimited operations in Gaza Strip.
“The
Tsahal (army) and the security forces have received orders to operate
without any limits on time or their modus operandi to act against the
terrorist organizations.”
Late
Sunday, a mother and her son were killed by an Israeli tank shell that
hit their home during an Israeli sweep of the Khan Younis refugee camp
in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli occupation forces gunned down Saturday eight
Palestinians in separate attacks across Gaza Strip.
On
Thursday, January 13, Israeli occupation forces gunned
down a Palestinian as he drove his pregnant wife to hospital
in the north of the Gaza Strip and killed another in an incursion into
a refugee camp.
Security
Integration
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A Sharon close aide said there would be no Israeli letup in attacks on Palestinians. (Reuters)
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The
senior Palestinian security official told AFP Abbas was seeking to
integrate some members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades into the security
services.
“The
decision has been made to put members of Al-Aqsa Brigades in the
Palestinian security services,” he said.
“Abu
Mazen told us that this must happen as soon as possible,” the
security official said.
The
Brigades, an armed offshoot of Abbas' own Fatah movement, is the
second largest of the Palestinian armed factions and has claimed
hundreds of anti-Israeli attacks.
Helping
Israel
In
another related development, Hamas reacted angrily to the PLO's call to
halt anti-Israeli attacks, saying such statements do serve Israel,
the occupying power that should stop its aggressions.
“We
are sorry to say that some people are using this name (the PLO) to
issue a demand which is at odds with the aims of the Palestinian
people,” Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told AFP.
“This
kind of statement only helps the Zionist enemy and gives it an excuse
to continue the occupation and legalizes its aggressions.”
Abbas,
who is also chairman of the PLO, is reportedly due in Gaza Wednesday,
January 19, for ceasefire talks with resistance factions.
Abu
Zuhri confirmed that the leadership of Hamas in Gaza would hold talks
with Abbas on Wednesday.
A
well-kept Arab diplomatic source told IslamOnline.net Saturday that
Arab countries, particularly Syria
and Lebanon, were holding intensive talks with Palestinian
resistance groups to broker a unilateral ceasefire.
Abbas,
seen by Israel and Washington as a moderate leader, has been an
outspoken critic of the use of weapons in the Palestinian Intifada
against Israel's occupation, especially the firing of rockets and
mortars from the Gaza Strip.
But
he is also determined to pursue a policy of dialogue rather than
confrontation with the resistance factions.
Israel
claims that Palestinian resistance of occupation and struggle for an
independent state on lands it occupies is “terrorism”, and tries
to associate it with Washington’s so-called war on terror.
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