As Hamas terrorism increases and Israel raises the stakes on retaliation,
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to resign his post,
blaming Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian sources said Abbas has told allies in the Fatah movement that he
has been isolated in his efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian war, Middle East Newsline reports. They said Abbas has accused PA Chairman Arafat of inciting Hamas to escalate attacks against
Israel in an attempt to undermine the new prime minister.
"Abbas is not kidding about resigning," a Palestinian source was quoted by Middle East Newsline as saying. "He is under great pressure and he doesn't operate well under pressure."
Abbas suggests his resignation would spark a walkoff by his Cabinet
ministers. Palestinian sources told Middle East Newsline several ministers
have given Abbas two weeks to assume control of the government and end
Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
The terrorist group Hamas vowed yesterday to "blow up the Zionist entity and tear it to pieces" as Israeli helicopters patrolled the skies of Gaza to
hunt down Palestinian militants in one of the most crowded cities in the
world.
Speaking after an Israeli rocket attack that killed seven people, including
a senior Hamas militant, Mahmoud Al Zahar, the Hamas leader, said the
movement would "launch a series of new attacks against the Israeli people by
the youths of Palestine. This crime will not pass without punishment.''
Activists from Yasser Arafat's mainstream movement said they are siding with the Islamic militants of Hamas. Hussein al Sheikh, a Fatah leader in
Ramallah, said: "This is a bloody war against the Palestinian people. (The)
Fatah movement stands with the Palestinian people in the resistance against the occupation.'' The dramatic hardening of their position came after Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, vowed at an emergency cabinet meeting to press ahead with attacks against Hamas. His language seemed to doom the
U.S.-sponsored roadmap for peace in the Middle East, which calls for an end
to violence as a first step.
Israeli forces thrust into Gaza yesterday after the botched assassination
attempt against Abdel Aziz al Rantisi, Hamas' political leader, on Tuesday.
Yesterday's attack – in retaliation for the worst suicide bombing in six
months, which killed 17 people on a bus in Jerusalem on Wednesday – came
after the funeral of 10 Palestinians who were killed Wednesday night by
Israeli helicopters. They fired missiles at targets in Sabra, where Ahmed
Yassin, Hamas' spiritual leader, lives.
Hamas claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bus bombing. Sharon has served notice he will continue to strike at suspected Palestinian terrorists as and
when he chooses, whatever the damage to the roadmap. Israeli officials say
that Hamas leaders, including Sheikh Yassin, are not immune from
retaliation.
In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he will hold new talks
at the end of next week aimed at rescuing the floundering roadmap plan.
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