Palestine Government dissolved

#1

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10052006/ne ... ondent.htm

October 5, 2006 -- JERUSALEM - Efforts to unify Palestinians - and avoid a civil war - in a new government have collapsed, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday.

Abbas said he will dissolve the Hamas-led Cabinet after weeks of negotiations failed to get the terrorist group to recognize Israel.

"There is no dialogue now," Abbas said in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

"There are many bloody events now, and we need to end this crisis as soon as possible, reach a solution and form a new Cabinet," Abbas told reporters.

He spoke after masked men killed a Hamas activist as he set out for morning prayers in the West Bank. Last night gunmen fired at the Gaza home of one of the most hard-line Hamas legislators, killing his bodyguard. That brought the death toll since Sunday in the factional violence to 14.

Hamas is believed to be preparing for all-out war with Abbas' Fatah faction if the Hamas-led government falls.

At least 600 weapons, including automatic rifles and mortars, have been smuggled by the terrorist group from its stronghold in the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, where Fatah is the stronger faction, officials said.

Talks to bring all Palestinian factions together failed after Hamas refused to recognize Israel and renounce violence, officials said.

Abbas was bolstered yesterday by a visit from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said any new government must accept peace principles set by world powers.

She also promised Abbas that the Bush administration would do more to help the Palestinian people.

"I told the president that we are very concerned, of course, about the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territories," Rice said. "I said to him that we would redouble our efforts to improve the conditions for the Palestinian people."

But Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas official, accused Rice of serving "an American and Israeli agenda." He called on Abbas "to avoid using the sword of time" by setting any deadlines in unity efforts.

Rice was expected to ask Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, at their meeting last night, to do whatever he can to strengthen Abbas.

Israeli officials said Olmert was likely to respond positively, but to ask that Abbas make greater efforts to secure the release of a kidnapped Israeli soldier being held by Hamas and two other terrorist groups.

#2

...maybe living in a hole isn't such a bad idea after all.....

Bot · #3

Abbas actually has the authority to dissolve the government? I didn't know that...

#4

Abbas could easily dissolve the current govt.

Haniyeh and HAMAS might object, but there is little they can do if is comes down to scraps.

but the periodic point is that it happened because of two things that are undeniable at this point:

continued HAMAS violence

and

DESPITE debates and semantics, HAMAS refusal to recognize Israel.

to be honest, when I first came at this, I hoped for the best. after what Hezbollah did,.. I am not willing to support any group "changing" without a complete surrender of personal military force.