Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat- The war of words between the Fatah and Hamas movements intensified ahead of the dialogue session in Damascus on 9 November, which is devoted to the discussion of security issues. This development comes after Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, alias Abu-Mazin, refused to allow Hamas to participate in the PA security agencies.
Dr Yahya Musa, deputy leader of Hamas’s parliamentary bloc and a prominent leading figure in the movement, said Abbas’s rejection of the principle of security partnership suggests that Abu-Mazin’s main objective is for the security agencies to serve as a security proxy of Israel. This, he added, constitutes a clear and serious violation of the provisions of the Egyptian [reconciliation] paper, which Abbas calls on Hamas to sign.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Musa said Abbas’s statements show beyond doubt that he refuses to introduce any change to the current situation where security cooperation between Israel and the PA continues and the resistance men continue to be tracked down, jailed, and severely punished.
During a visit to Kuwait, Abu-Mazin had said in a press interview that if Hamas proposes at the upcoming Damascus talks to share responsibility for security, its request will be rejected. He emphasized that security can be only in one hand and that only one authority and one leadership can be in charge of it. He asserted: “Sharing the responsibility for security in Gaza and the West Bank is rejected and absolutely unacceptable.”
Abbas launched an attack on Iran and accused it of impeding the settlement process in the region and playing a negative role in the Palestinian issue and [inter-Palestinian] dialogue.
Musa said that all Palestinian factions unanimously agreed at the previous Cairo talks to reject security cooperation with Israel. He added that these factions also asserted the need to adopt a new security tenet based on preserving the Palestinian citizens’ security, not the occupation.
Musa disapproved Abbas’s charge that Iran blocks the settlement process. He said these statements mean that Abbas “is part of the US-Israeli group in the region.” He asked: “If the world, except the United States, is unanimous that the rightist government in Israel is responsible for blocking the settlement process, how can Abbas volunteer to accuse the party that extends aid to the Palestinian people?”
Disapprovingly, he asked: “Which party continues the settlement and Judaization activity and calls for recognizing the Jewish identity of the state? Which party provides cover for the settlers to harm Palestinian citizens?”
Musa said Abbas’s statements indicate that the national cause and achieving independence are not part of his concerns. Musa questioned Abbas’s motives to “exonerate the occupation authorities in particular.”
Musa noted that Abbas’s statements show beyond any doubt that “he cannot be trusted with the national cause and is not qualified to negotiate in the name of the Palestinian people as long as he volunteers to be the trumpet of the occupation.”
He called on the Fatah Movement to correct its path and take a clear and explicit position on Abbas’s stands. He said: “This type of leaders is responsible for the declining standing of the Fatah Movement as one of the national liberation movements.”
However, Musa noted that, in spite of Abbas’s serious statements, people should wait until the upcoming Damascus meeting is held and listen to what the Fatah Movement representatives will have to say.
He asserted that his movement will be committed to the content of the Egyptian paper and to the internal understandings that the movement will reach with the Fatah Movement.