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Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Abbas threatens worldwide terror attacks?

"No one in the world will live in safety and stability while the children of
Gaza, Jerusalem, [and] the West Bank, and Palestinian children everywhere,
do not live in safety and stability."

MEMRI: Palestinian Leadership In U-Turn On Gaza Conflict: Attacking Israel,
Adopting Hamas' Conditions For A Ceasefire
Special Dispatch | 5806 | July 23, 2014

On July 22, 2014, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud 'Abbas gave a
major speech at an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership in
Ramallah, aimed at updating the leadership on the political developments in
the Palestinian arena regarding the war in Gaza. His speech reveals a
political 180-degree shift, in two aspects: a) the adoption of the Hamas
narrative vis-=E0-vis the war, and b) the adoption of the Hamas position on
conditions necessary for it to accept a ceasefire.

Up until this point, 'Abbas had been harshly critical of Hamas, calling its
leaders "warmongers" and noting that its conditions for a ceasefire "are not
essential and not required."[1]

However, in his speech to the Palestinian leadership, 'Abbas focused solely
on condemning Israel's actions, and stated that the actions of "the
perpetrators of the crimes against the Palestinian people" had crossed all
lines and that they would not go unprosecuted and unpunished. He stated that
the aim of Israel's operation was to destroy "the Palestinian cause" and to
torpedo the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement; he also refrained from
referring to Hamas' operations in the same terms as he had previously.

Similarly, 'Abbas said that he had conducted contacts with Egypt, Turkey,
and Qatar, and with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, in order to stop the
"Israeli aggression" and to arrive at a ceasefire and then to act to "end
the siege." He took this opportunity to reiterate Hamas' conditions for a
ceasefire and added his own demand =96 the implementation of the "fourth
phase" of the release of prisoners agreed upon in the Israel-Palestinian
negotiations.

It should be noted that following the meeting, the Palestinian leadership
published an announcement that was read out by PLO Executive Committee
secretary-general Yasser Abd Rabbo, praising the resistance in Gaza, calling
on the Palestinian people to undertake extensive and ongoing popular
activity for Gaza and the resistance, and supporting Hamas' demands for
accepting a ceasefire.

The following is the translation of 'Abbas' speech:

'Abbas: "We Will Never Forgive And Never Forget"

"From the first moment of this barbaric Israeli aggression against our
people in Gaza, in Jerusalem, and in the West Bank, we have called loudly
about the necessity of stopping this aggression; we have held extensive
regional and international contacts to this end, and, in particular, we have
asked Egyptian President Al-Sisi to act to stop the aggression in order to
prevent the shedding of the blood of our people. [The president] complied,
and he should be thanked for this, and Egypt presented an initiative that
includes an immediate ceasefire and action to end the siege, open the
crossings, and so on...

"We have appealed to Egypt and have held talks with the president and with
the relevant Palestinian factions, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. After that,
we appealed to Turkey and Qatar; we approached the leaderships in both
countries, and we met there with [Hamas political bureau head] Khaled
Mash'al in order to stop the Israeli aggression and to arrive at a
ceasefire, and from there to act to end the siege, to open the crossings,
and to stop the aggression in all its forms; we demanded that [Israel]
respect the Gazans' fishing rights, that it abolish the so-called 'buffer
zones,' that it free the prisoners from the Shalit deal that Israel has
re-arrested, that it free the fourth phase of the long-term prisoners and
Legislative Council members; that there be an immediate operation to bring
humanitarian aid [into Gaza], and that there be an international conference
for the [countries] that are donating to Gaza's rehabilitation.

"The time has come for everyone to raise their voices and tell the truth,
clearly and powerfully, in the face of the Israeli killing and destruction
machine. The oppressing occupation forces have crossed every line and [have
broken] all the laws. They have deviated from all standards of human and
international morality in their ferocity and barbarism.

"We know that we have no aircraft and artillery. But we have at our disposal
something stronger than fire, iron, and arrogance =96 we have the power of
truth and justice. We have the rights. Nothing will erase our historic
rights that were established in mighty battles. We have our unity and our
cohesion.

"Therefore, I call on everyone to help each other and to set aside the
disputes at these fateful moments. [I call] on everyone to show national
responsibility and to distance themselves from narrow sectarian party
interests. We understand that the main goal of this Israeli aggression is to
destroy our national cause and to thwart the reconciliation.

"We stress to our people that we adhere to national unity, to ending the
schism, and to the national unity government. We will continue contacts and
regional and international moves. We will not relinquish our responsibility.
We will go anywhere in order to stop the aggression and the confiscation of
our legitimate rights, and we will hunt down those who commit crimes against
our people, no matter how long it takes. These crimes will not go
unprosecuted and unpunished.

"I reiterate the need to disconnect the Palestinian problem from all the
disagreements =96 whatever they may be =96 and to stop the policy of the d=
ouble
standard, because a single drop of the blood of a Palestinian child is more
precious to us than anything else in this world. I wish to address these
statements to our people in general and to our beloved ones in the Gaza
Strip in particular.

"Oh dear ones, persistent and patient, your pain is our pain and the pain of
our people wherever they are. The suffering and affliction you are
experiencing today deeply wound our heart, and every drop of blood and every
martyr who falls pains us deep within our souls. Words cannot describe our
emotions and what our heart feels for you. Your wound is our wound and is
the great anger that is within us. We will never forgive and never forget.
Our people will kneel only before Allah. No one in the world will live in
safety and stability while the children of Gaza, Jerusalem, [and] the West
Bank, and Palestinian children everywhere, do not live in safety and
stability.

"Praise and eternal life to our brave martyrs. Victory, if Allah wills it,
for truth, justice, and the will of our people, which has paid a very high
price for its freedom and independence. The killing and destruction will not
frighten us. We will rebuild what the aggression has destroyed and dress our
wounds when we inevitably win and the banners of Jerusalem fly high over
Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the capital of
the independent state of Palestine, if Allah wills it."[2]

Palestinian Leadership's Announcement: Standing With Gaza And "The
Courageous Resistance," Condemning Israel's "Criminal Terrorist Aggression"

The Palestinian leadership's announcement read: "The Palestinian leadership,
headed by Mahmoud 'Abbas, held an emergency meeting tonight to study the
recent developments in the national activity, as part of its confrontation
with the criminal terrorist aggression being carried out by Israel against
our steadfast people in the brave Gaza Strip.

"The leadership heard the announcement by President Abu Mazen at the
beginning of the meeting, and expressed its appreciation for the efforts
that he has made on the international and regional level and for [his
efforts] to connect with the leaderships of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. [The
leadership] stressed the importance of continuing these efforts, and of
continuing the coordination and the joint activity on all levels. This comes
as part of strengthening the Palestinian national unity under the flag of
the PLO, our only legitimate representative.

"[The leadership] praises the steadfastness of our people in its courageous
resistance against the occupation army that is carrying out ongoing
massacres and crimes.

"The leadership has stressed that our entire people, both in and outside the
homeland, stands assertively alongside Gaza and alongside its bleeding
people, at every hour, in defense of the Palestinian homeland, the rights of
the people, and the national Palestinian enterprise.

"The heroic Gaza is today [our] defensive shield, because it heads the ranks
to protect our land, our rights, and our steadfast and sacred goals of
liberation, return, and independence.

"The Palestinian leadership has called on our people to take the most
extensive and ongoing popular action in order to express steadfastness
alongside the heroic Gaza and its courageous resistance and against the army
of aggression and its ongoing crimes. We are certain that Gaza will not
break as long as it [enjoys] the cohesion of our entire people...

"Likewise, the Palestinian leadership has called for expanding the campaign
of international solidarity with the brave and steadfast Gaza, for calling
on all the international organizations and bodies, for condemning the crimes
of the occupiers, and for acting intensively to prosecute its leaders and
senior officials in international courts for these crimes. Also, it calls on
the entire world to reject the misleading propaganda being spread by the
government of the occupation and the aggression."

The announcement added: "Gaza's demands for a halt to the aggression and the
removal of the siege, in all its forms, are the demands of the entire
Palestinian people, and it is to the implementation of this goal that the
Palestinian leadership is devoting all its capabilities."[3]




[1] Amad.ps/Arabic, July 11, 2014. See also MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5795,
Hamas, Palestinian Authority Trade Accusations Over Israeli Operation In
Gaza, July 14, 2014.



[2] Wafa (PA), July 22, 2014.



[3] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Palestinian Authority), July 23, 2014.

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070 | Fax: (202) 955-9077

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.

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