Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
said he would not allow a new intifada to begin while he was in office, but warned that the calm currently felt in the West Bank may disappear at the end of his term, in June of 2010.
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| PLO extends Abbas' presidency term / Ali Waked |
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Central Committee says extension will coincide with PA general elections in June. Hamas calls move 'a political bribe meant to cover up for Abbas' illegitimacy' |
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"As long as I am in office, I will not allow anyone to start a new intifada, but once I leave it is no longer my responsibility and I can't make any guarantees," Abbas told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday.
Abbas also rejected Israeli claims that he is responsible for the stalemate in peace talks, and said he had twice offered Defense Minister Ehud Barak a
compromise on settlements in the West Bank, but that the latter had ignored his advances.
The president also stressed that he would insist on a complete freeze in settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a precondition for negotiations with Israel.
He called on the US and the international community to put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do so. "They have to come and say this is the end game and pressure the Israeli government to accept it," he said.
Abbas' critics say he is threatening to resign from politics in a bid to create international pressure on Netanyahu to concede to his demands.
Last week the Palestinian Liberation Organization's central committee approved the extension of Abbas'
term until June 28, 2010, at which time the Palestinian Authority plans to hold elections based on an Egypt-brokered truce agreement with Hamas.
Hamas
has so far neglected to sign the agreement and is currently refusing to recognize PLO decisions, claiming that the extension of Abbas' term is unlawful.
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