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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya attends a cabinet meeting at his office in Gaza Dec. 17, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Hamas rejects Abbas calls for early
elections
GAZA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) --
Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) officials rejected on Saturday the call of
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for holding early parliamentary and
presidential elections in the Palestinian territories.
"We reject President Mahmoud Abbas'
calls for holding early elections. And if he got tired of the situation, he
should resign instead. There will be no early elections Inshallah." said foreign
minister of the Hamas-led government Mahmoud al-Zahar.
Zahar said that "Abbas' decision was a turning-down
of the Palestinian people's voted choice, and this is
unacceptable." Full story>>>
Abbas calls for early
presidential, parliamentary elections
RAMALLAH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday to hold early preliminary and presidential
elections in spite of great opposition from the ruling Hamas movement.
"I decided to call early presidential and
parliamentary elections," says Abbas amid thunderous applause among officials
attending his live televised speech.
"Since the people are the source of authority, we
will return to them and let them say their word, " said Abbas.
The president did not set a date for holding the
elections, but said he had discussed with the committee of elections how to hold
polls as soon as possible.
Earlier, Abbas has signaled the possibility of
sacking the Hamas-led government.
"I have decreed the formation of the government, and
I can sack it whenever I want," said Abbas in his policy speech, adding "firing
the government was my right."
"Firing the government was not a recipe for civil
war," said Abbas as he defended constitutional authorities, responding to Hamas
foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar's warning that ousting the government was a
step on the way of civil war.
As talks to form a national unity government
collapsed, Abbas held the Hamas movement responsible for the failure, which
dashed Palestinian hopes that an end to Western sanctions on the current Hamas
administration could be in sight.
U.S. welcomes Abbas' call for early
Palestinian elections
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The White House
welcomed on Saturday a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for fresh
elections, expressing hopes that it will bring factional violence to an end and
pave the way for resumption of Mideast peace process.
"While the elections are an internal matter, we hope
this helps bring the violence to an end and the formation of a Palestinian
Authority committed to the Quartet principles," White House spokeswoman Jeanie
Mamo said. Full story>>>
Blair calls for int'l support to
Abbas
CAIRO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Visiting British Prime
Minister Tony Blair Saturday called on the international community to support
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for early elections, Egypt's official
MENA news agency reported.
At a press conference at the British embassy, Blair
said that the speech of Abbas Saturday morning was very important at this
critical time, which showed that Abbas wished to improve living standards of the
Palestinian people who have suffered for such along time, according to MENA. Full story>>>
At least six injured in Hamas protests
in Gaza
GAZA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were
injured as tens of thousands of Hamas supporters and members took to the streets
in the Gaza Strip Saturday evening in protest against President Mahmoud Abbas'
call for early elections.
Earlier in the day, Abbas called for early
parliamentary and presidential elections, a move rejected by Hamas immediately.
Full
story>>>
