Mashaal condemns emergency government

Exiled Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal said Friday that Hamas had no intention of taking control of the Palestinian Authority.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Mashaal added that international sources were to blame for the escalation in the Palestinian arena.

The exiled Hamas chief criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement of the establishment of an emergency government, saying it was against the law.

“There is no such thing as an emergency government in the law, and the step he made is not helping mend the rift, it’s a sad move that has created a situation of one government in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip,” Mashaal said.

He added that Hamas was forced to take the steps necessary to “deal with a group who wanted to force itself on the situation, on Fatah, and on the Palestinian Arena”. According to him, outside sources were working to bring down the Palestinian unity government and to thwart the Mecca agreement.

Mashaal said that his organization rejected the proposal to deploy a multinational force to the Gaza Strip. He added that the recent events in Gaza were not part of an Iranian-Syrian plan.

“We’re our own bosses,” he said. He also called for the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston.

Mashaal concluded that a serious dialog between Hamas and Fatah was imperative, and he warned Arab states not to stand by one faction against the other, so as to rebuild trust between the factions and reestablish the unity government.