Abbas to deliver speech, may call early elections
Source: Reuters
By Mohammed Assadi RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may call early elections on Saturday in a much anticipated speech after violence between his Fatah group and the ruling Hamas movement stirred fears of civil war. Internal tensions are at their worst in a decade after months of talks between the Hamas Islamists and Fatah on forging a unity government foundered, dashing Palestinian hopes that an end to crippling Western sanctions could be in sight. Abbas's forces wounded 32 Hamas supporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday when they fired on protesters planning to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Islamic group's founding. Gunbattles between the factions also erupted in Gaza. The president is expected to give a major speech around midday (1000 GMT) in Ramallah. The speech comes after Abbas said unity talks with Hamas had reached a "dead end". "He is leaning towards calling for early elections," Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Abbas, told Reuters. "The president's choice is between bullets and ballots. He will choose ballots. Ballots are the only way to avoid the prospect of a civil war." Hamas, which surprised Fatah to win parliamentary elections in January, has said it would regard such a move as a coup. Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's faction in parliament, on Friday said Hamas would not agree to holding an early election or a referendum on the issue. He did not say what steps Hamas would take if Abbas sought to call new elections. Some analysts question whether Abbas will make such a bold announcement with emotions running at fever pitch. "He will threaten to hold early elections or a referendum but I do not think he is suicidal," political analyst Basem Zubeideh was quoted as saying in the Palestine Times daily. "I do not expect ... anything dramatic." U.S. SUPPORT FOR ABBAS Hamas lawmakers and ministers said late on Friday they would not attend Abbas's address in protest at the "systematic security anarchy" caused by Abbas's forces and the mounting violence. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Reuters on Friday she would ask Congress for tens of millions of dollars to strengthen Abbas's security forces. Washington wants to ensure Abbas emerges victorious in any power struggle with Hamas. Hamas has led the government since March but has largely been unable to govern because of the Western sanctions and Israel's withholding of vital tax transfers. The measures were imposed because of Hamas's refusal to recognise the Jewish state and renounce violence. Both Israel and the United States would be happy to see the Hamas government fall. They regard Hamas as a terrorist group. While Abbas has hinted he could take decisive steps, such as sacking the government, he has so far been cautious. "People are getting killed in the streets. There are accusations and counter accusations," said Palestinian analyst Ali Jarbawi. "This is a call by his people to do something." Hayya accused Abbas of starting a war after Friday's internal violence. The latest bloodshed came after Hamas accused a Fatah strongman and Abbas's presidential guard of trying to kill Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt late on Thursday. A Palestinian official said a Gaza-based Egyptian security delegation had begun mediation efforts between Fatah and Hamas aimed at defusing rising tensions. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
