Withdrawal 1st step to statehood
Abbas: Withdrawal 1st step to statehood
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Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 9, 2005
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The Israel withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank is the first step toward establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, PA cabinet secretary Samir Hulaileh said that the disengagement would not mean the end of Israeli occupation. "The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank won't change the legal status of these areas and they will remain under occupation in accordance with international law," he explained.
Hulaileh said the PA Foreign Ministry has launched a campaign aimed at persuading the international community that the areas slated for evacuation will remain under Israeli occupation. "The withdrawal won't absolve Israel of its legal responsibility for these areas," he added. "Israel is planning to maintain its security control of these areas even after the withdrawal."
Addressing the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City, Abbas urged Palestinians not to disrupt the disengagement and to behave in a calm and civilized manner during the pullout. "We should all be responsible for security, not only the Palestinian Authority," he said. "We want to prove to the world that we are a civilized people and that we deserve a state."
Abbas said he was planning to hold parliamentary elections in January 2006, but stopped short of setting an exact date. In response, Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip expressed deep disappointment, but said the movement would nevertheless participate in the vote, which was originally scheduled for July 17, 2005.
During the speech, dozens of Fatah gunmen demonstrated outside the PLC building, demanding the resignation of PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. The gunmen accused Fayyad of halting payments to their group and chanted slogans denouncing him as an American ambassador puppet.
Abbas expressed fear that the disengagement would be the first and last Israeli move. "Our biggest fear is that the Gaza Strip would be separated from the West Bank," he said. "We have told [US President George W.] Bush that we fear that the Gaza Strip and West Bank would become two separate entities."
He said the PA has reached an agreement with Israel on the border crossings into the Gaza Strip, including the seaport that the Palestinians will start building after the disengagement. He said that although no agreement has been reached on the airport in the southern Gaza Strip, the Palestinians maintain the right to start rebuilding it the day after the disengagement.
Abbas said the PA was prepared both on the security and civil levels to take control of the settlement areas after the pullout. Ninety-seven percent of the lands in Gush Katif are publicly owned and no one will be allowed to harm them, he added.
"Anyone who claims ownership on the remaining three percent is welcome to come forward and we will either compensate him or we will tell him to take his land. This will be the big test for us – not only to ensure a calm withdrawal, but also to protect the future of these lands so we can use them in a way that would benefit the Palestinian people."
Abbas also warned the Palestinians against excessive celebrations following the disengagement. "Let's not exaggerate with the celebrations," he cautioned. "This is not the time to talk about celebrations. We want them first to leave then we will start celebrating. We shouldn't start the celebrations while the Israelis are still on our lands."
"We must work, plan and think. We should not celebrate by firing rockets and bullets, because this is uncivilized. We must stop all these provocations."
Abbas reiterated his call for an end to the presence of armed militias on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying there should be one authority, one law and one weapon. He strongly lashed out at groups that fire rockets on Israel, noting that some of them had fallen on Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring civilians.
"I can understand when an Israeli rocket hits a Palestinian house," he said. "Then we can blame Israel. "But when a rocket destroys a Palestinian house and kills our brothers, this is a truly tragic situation."
Referring to allegations of rampant corruption in the PA, Abbas said: "Yes, there is corruption, but we have the will and power to end it. We have halted a lot of the illegal spending and have referred cases to the prosecutor-general.
However, there are still some people who are continuing to break the law and it's time to ask them about the sources of their wealth. No one is above the law, not even the chairman of the Palestinian Authority."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in response to Abbas's criticism of the rocket attacks that the PA chairman had ignored the fact that Israeli pullout was a direct result of the rocket attacks.
"The rockets have liberated the Gaza Strip," he told reporters in Gaza City. "These rockets have expelled the Israeli occupation and driven it to demolish the houses of the settlers before retreating. The Jews are leaving the Gaza Strip because of the strikes of the resistance and not as a result of negotiations."
Zuhri also expressed astonishment at Abbas's call to refrain from holding celebrations, pointing out that the PA and the ruling Fatah party had already begun celebrating the withdrawal. He claimed that the PA had allocated millions of dollars for the celebrations.
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti urged Palestinians on Tuesday to hold massive celebrations the day after the disengagement. In a letter to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, Barghouti said the withdrawal was the "fruit of the intifada, the resistance and the sacrifices of thousand of martyrs, wounded, prisoners and deportees."
He added: "Every Palestinian must feel that he contributed to the liberation of our lands. The will of the Palestinian people has triumphed over the ruling gangs and extremists in Israel.
click here to read the original article online
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 9, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Israel withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank is the first step toward establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, PA cabinet secretary Samir Hulaileh said that the disengagement would not mean the end of Israeli occupation. "The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank won't change the legal status of these areas and they will remain under occupation in accordance with international law," he explained.
Hulaileh said the PA Foreign Ministry has launched a campaign aimed at persuading the international community that the areas slated for evacuation will remain under Israeli occupation. "The withdrawal won't absolve Israel of its legal responsibility for these areas," he added. "Israel is planning to maintain its security control of these areas even after the withdrawal."
Addressing the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City, Abbas urged Palestinians not to disrupt the disengagement and to behave in a calm and civilized manner during the pullout. "We should all be responsible for security, not only the Palestinian Authority," he said. "We want to prove to the world that we are a civilized people and that we deserve a state."
Abbas said he was planning to hold parliamentary elections in January 2006, but stopped short of setting an exact date. In response, Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip expressed deep disappointment, but said the movement would nevertheless participate in the vote, which was originally scheduled for July 17, 2005.
During the speech, dozens of Fatah gunmen demonstrated outside the PLC building, demanding the resignation of PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. The gunmen accused Fayyad of halting payments to their group and chanted slogans denouncing him as an American ambassador puppet.
Abbas expressed fear that the disengagement would be the first and last Israeli move. "Our biggest fear is that the Gaza Strip would be separated from the West Bank," he said. "We have told [US President George W.] Bush that we fear that the Gaza Strip and West Bank would become two separate entities."
He said the PA has reached an agreement with Israel on the border crossings into the Gaza Strip, including the seaport that the Palestinians will start building after the disengagement. He said that although no agreement has been reached on the airport in the southern Gaza Strip, the Palestinians maintain the right to start rebuilding it the day after the disengagement.
Abbas said the PA was prepared both on the security and civil levels to take control of the settlement areas after the pullout. Ninety-seven percent of the lands in Gush Katif are publicly owned and no one will be allowed to harm them, he added.
"Anyone who claims ownership on the remaining three percent is welcome to come forward and we will either compensate him or we will tell him to take his land. This will be the big test for us – not only to ensure a calm withdrawal, but also to protect the future of these lands so we can use them in a way that would benefit the Palestinian people."
Abbas also warned the Palestinians against excessive celebrations following the disengagement. "Let's not exaggerate with the celebrations," he cautioned. "This is not the time to talk about celebrations. We want them first to leave then we will start celebrating. We shouldn't start the celebrations while the Israelis are still on our lands."
"We must work, plan and think. We should not celebrate by firing rockets and bullets, because this is uncivilized. We must stop all these provocations."
Abbas reiterated his call for an end to the presence of armed militias on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying there should be one authority, one law and one weapon. He strongly lashed out at groups that fire rockets on Israel, noting that some of them had fallen on Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring civilians.
"I can understand when an Israeli rocket hits a Palestinian house," he said. "Then we can blame Israel. "But when a rocket destroys a Palestinian house and kills our brothers, this is a truly tragic situation."
Referring to allegations of rampant corruption in the PA, Abbas said: "Yes, there is corruption, but we have the will and power to end it. We have halted a lot of the illegal spending and have referred cases to the prosecutor-general.
However, there are still some people who are continuing to break the law and it's time to ask them about the sources of their wealth. No one is above the law, not even the chairman of the Palestinian Authority."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in response to Abbas's criticism of the rocket attacks that the PA chairman had ignored the fact that Israeli pullout was a direct result of the rocket attacks.
"The rockets have liberated the Gaza Strip," he told reporters in Gaza City. "These rockets have expelled the Israeli occupation and driven it to demolish the houses of the settlers before retreating. The Jews are leaving the Gaza Strip because of the strikes of the resistance and not as a result of negotiations."
Zuhri also expressed astonishment at Abbas's call to refrain from holding celebrations, pointing out that the PA and the ruling Fatah party had already begun celebrating the withdrawal. He claimed that the PA had allocated millions of dollars for the celebrations.
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti urged Palestinians on Tuesday to hold massive celebrations the day after the disengagement. In a letter to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, Barghouti said the withdrawal was the "fruit of the intifada, the resistance and the sacrifices of thousand of martyrs, wounded, prisoners and deportees."
He added: "Every Palestinian must feel that he contributed to the liberation of our lands. The will of the Palestinian people has triumphed over the ruling gangs and extremists in Israel.
click here to read the original article online
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