Abbas adviser threatens Hamas with "reckoning"
After the end of the war, the USA sees the Palestinian Authority as a possible ruler in the Gaza Strip. In an interview, an advisor to Palestinian President Abbas clearly distances himself from the terror of Hamas, even if he does not clearly name his rival.
An advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has criticized the terrorists in the Gaza Strip in an interview for their role in the Gaza war. Anyone who gives Israel a pretext to "commit more crimes" will face a "harsh reckoning", Mahmud Habbash told the Arabic broadcaster Al-Arabija, without explicitly naming Hamas and other extremist groups. Their massacre in Israel on October 7 was the trigger for Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip. "No one is above criticism and accountability," Habbash continued. However, he also emphasized that Israel bears responsibility for the bloodshed in the Palestinian coastal region.
The USA is relying on Abbas' Palestinian Authority (PA) for the period after the Gaza war. The USA wants the PA, which governs the West Bank, to take back control of the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects this and accuses it of supporting terror. Hamas forcibly expelled the PA from the coastal strip in 2007.
Hamas' solo effort risks Palestinian unity
Abbas, who is not very popular with his own people, is considered a moderate and insists on a two-state solution. He heads the Palestinian Authority and the secular Fatah faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Fatah and Hamas are the two largest Palestinian organizations - and bitter rivals. Some representatives of the Fatah party had expressed understanding for the brutal terror attacks by Hamas in Israel. There have been reconciliation talks between the two groups for several years.
The PLO is the only legal authority for the Palestinian people, Habbash continued in an interview with Al-Arabija. "Everyone is expected to return to the PLO and work with it." Without mentioning Hamas by name, he hinted that its solo effort in the bloodbath in Israel had jeopardized Palestinian unity. "Who decided to risk all interests and the unity of the Palestinian people because of party and regional agendas?" he asked, but left a concrete answer open.
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- Following the war, there have been discussions about the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, potentially taking control of the Gaza Strip, which is currently under the control of Hamas.
- In response to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, Mahmud Habbash, an advisor to Abbas, criticized Hamas and other extremist groups for providing Israel with a pretext for violence, warning of a "harsh reckoning" for those who advocate for further conflict.
- The ongoing conflict between Fatah, the secular faction led by Abbas within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and Hamas has threatened Palestinian unity, with Habbash suggesting that Hamas' actions had put all interests and the unity of the Palestinian people at risk.
Source: www.ntv.de
