Mashaal: Fight Israel, not each other
Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal calls on Hamas to ‘practice restraint’ and ‘avoid being dragged into civil war’ with Fatah. ‘Our battle is against the Israeli occupation,’ Mashaal states. Twenty Palestinian wounded in Hamas-Fatah fighting Friday
Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal called Friday night for Hamas members to “practice restraint” and “avoid being dragged into civil war” with Fatah supporters.
In a radio interview in Damascus, Mashaal noted, “Our battle is against the Israeli occupation and we must not be dragged into a civil war in the Palestinian Authority.”
Mashaal made the comments following an attempt Thursday to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, which led to riots between Fatah and Hamas gunmen in Gaza and the West Bank.
Mashaal called on Hamas members to prevent further bloodshed.
Other officials worldwide also called on both sides to practice restraint. Outgoing UN Sec.-Gen. Kofi Annan called on the sides to solve their disagreement peacefully and nurture national unity. In a message published by Annan’s spokesperson on the UN website, the UN chief calls on gunmen to respect the rule of law and “renew dialogue.”
Jordan's King Abdullah II made an urgent appeal to the Palestinian leadership Friday to stop the internal feuding as members of the two main parties fought with guns, stones and bottles in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank.
Jordan's official Petra news agency reported that the king called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and impressed on him "the importance of unifying the Palestinians at this critical period."
Attempting to dispel tensions between the sides, Haniyeh’s deputy Nasr a-Din Shaar met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in attempt to bring about a cooling of violence in the Palestinian arena. Shaar arrived at the Mukata compound after and scuffle erupted between PA security guards and hundreds of Hamas protestors. Both sides urged restraint and avoidance of civil war.
Earlier Friday Haniyeh gave his first speech since the attempt on his life at a rally celebrating 19 years since the founding of Hamas in Gaza City, to an audience of some 100,000 people. The Palestinian premier said that he and his colleagues chose to join Hamas to be Shahids and sacrifice their lives for Allah and not just to be ministers.
Haniyeah called on the factions to unite. “Palestinian blood must be safeguarded, and we must unite for the struggle to free our land and holy sites.” With that, Haniyeh said no amount of pressures on his government would lead Hamas to modify its stances.
During the daystensions reached new heights in the Palestinian territories. Twenty Palestinians were wounded, two of them critically, in gun battles between the various factions. Sixteen people were hurt in Ramallah and four in Gaza.
Fatah officials reported that Hamas gunmen were holed up in a church in Ramallah, firing at Fatah security forces from inside. Witnesses described the scene as “a battlefield.”
