Mahmoud Abbas: Hamas responsible for violence

 

In a news conference today from Cairo, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas placed the blame for the violence in the Gaza Strip squarely on the shoulders of Hamas. He described how he repeatedly made contact with Hamas and implored them not to break the ceasefire. He lamented that the violence in the Gaza Strip could have been avoided had Hamas not broken the ceasefire.
 
The following is Mahmoud Abbas's statement at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit.
 
"I say in all honesty, we made contact with leaders of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. We spoke with them in all honesty and directly, and after that we spoke with them indirectly, through more than one Arab and non-Arab side... We spoke with them on the telephone and we said to them: We ask of you, don't stop the ceasefire, the ceasefire must continue and not stop, in order to avoid what has happened, and if only we had avoided it."
 
PA TV Dec. 28, 2008

Gaza Update 2 Dec. 28, 2008 Palestinian Media Watch   Hamas TV: Ahmadinejad threatens Israel over Gaza events Hamas TV reported that Iranian President Ahmadinejad threatened Israel in response to Israel's attack on Hamas.  The Hamas TV news ticker reported numerous times:   "The President of Iran [Ahmadinejad]: These crimes will not change the Zionist entity's condition. Rather, its situation will be even blacker and its fate even worse."   Iran's support of the Hamas is not surprising as Hamas is a major supplier of weapons for Hamas and Hamas military units have undergone training in Iran.   Hamas TV,  Dec. 28, 2008      Gaza Update 1 Dec. 28, 2008 Palestinian Media Watch     Hamas TV: 180 killed are from Hamas armed forces Among those killed Hamas Police Commander, Tawfik Jaber Hamas TV acknowledged this morning that the vast majority of those killed are from the Hamas military. A news ticker running repeatedly from 10:00 AM announced: "More than 180 Palestinian policemen were killed including the [Police] Commander, General Tawfik Jaber." In the background Hamas TV is repeatedly broadcasting the same scenes of dozens of bodies of the uniformed Hamas soldiers who were killed in Israel's first attack yesterday when Israel hit the Hamas officer's course graduation ceremony. Hamas TV,  Dec. 28, 2008