Abbas: Our hand is extended
Photo: AFP
Abbas says still wants inter-Palestinian truce
Palestinian president says announcement of elections was not 'tactical move' to pressure Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that despite a one-sided decision to declare Palestinian elections on January 24 he still hoped to achieve a truce with Hamas.
Speaking at a meeting of the PLO's central council in Ramallah, Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority's "hand is still extended towards an inter-Palestinian truce".
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The council had convened in order to discuss the stalemate in Egypt-brokered talks aimed at reconciling the two rival factions.
Abbas said the announcement was not a tactical move on his part to pressure Hamas into signing a deal. "We do not engage in tactical calculation when we declare elections," he said. "Hamas is exposed to pressure from regional elements that are imposing their position on it."
The Palestinian president also denounced the current Israeli government and its predecessor, and called on the international community to force Israel to honor previous accords.
"Our demand to halt settlement construction is not a new condition but part of the peace process and its principles," he said. "I've spoken with President Obama about the need for this and for the process to conclude with a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders."
Abbas referred to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat's meeting with US officials and said the Palestinians understood inter-faction rifts were still deep. He stressed that he did not see Hamas' rule of the Gaza Strip as legitimate.
"Hamas is taking advantage from the continuation of the situation in the Strip, but we are determined to continue towards a truce," he said.
