Abbas warns Hamas he can remove government
(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-24 21:29
A spokesman for the Hamas-led government, Ghazi Hamad, added that Abbas
should not have made such a statement at an early point in the tenure of the new
government.
"We expect from President Abbas to protect his government and not to make
such declarations," Hamad said in an interview from Gaza city.
Aides to Abbas said his comments were meant as a warning to Khaled Mashaal,
the Hamas leader who criticized the Palestinian president last week, and that
Abbas doesn't plan on dissolving the government anytime soon. He will do so only
if the economic situation in the territories becomes "catastrophic," they said.
If Abbas were to dissolve the government, he would ask someone else to try to
form a new Cabinet, which would need the approval of the Hamas-controled
legislature. If a stalemate then emerged, Abbas has the authority to order new
elections.
In the interview, Abbas also said that Hamas had to face the facts and
negotiate with Israel or the Palestinian people would be left to starve after
the United States and European Union cut funding because of Hamas' refusal to
recognize Israel or renounce violence.
"Hamas has to face the facts and establish communication with Israel," he
said. "I'm worried that the situation will turn into a tragedy in the near
future. A short time later, we could be up against a great hunger disaster in
Palestine."
"Without help we can't stand on our feet long," he added. Abbas spoke during
the interview in both Arabic and English and the interview was broadcast with a
voice-over in Turkish. CNN-Turk provided The Associated Press with a full
transcript of Abbas' remarks translated into Turkish.
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