by Saud Abu Ramadan
RAMALLAH, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slammed on Tuesday Gaza ruling Hamas movement, saying the Islamic movement made use of the UN fact-finding report on the Israeli war on Gaza last winter to evade signing a reconciliation pact in Cairo.
"All the time, Hamas searches for any reason or any excuse to evade from dialogue and from advancing the national unity that ends their black coup on Gaza. They simply want to establish their own black emirate," said Abbas at the American University in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
The UN fact-finding report prepared by South African judge Richard Goldstone and his team on the Israeli war in Gaza accused both Israeli army officers and Hamas movement for committing war crimes against civilians last winter.
Hamas led a campaign of protest against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and against Abbas for accepting to delay a debate on the report in Geneva more than two weeks ago. Hamas also asked Egypt to postpone the signing of an inter-reconciliation pact this month.
Abbas rejected Hamas accusations that he has connived with Israel in the large-scale air, sea and ground war Israel carried out for 22 days on the Gaza Strip that ended on Jan. 18.
"Before Israel carried out its war, we warned Hamas movement in Gaza and Damascus so many times that the PNA knows reports that Israel was preparing for a war on Gaza and they didn't listen," said Abbas.
He added that when the war was launched, "senior Hamas leaders were hiding under ground and some others escaped to Egypt by ambulances after they were disguised as nurses and doctors."
"Hamas leaders left our poor and besieged people being slaughtered by Israel, and then they claimed they were resisting the occupation," said Abbas.
Back to Goldstone's report, Abbas said the report "squeezes Israel in the corner," adding "We were shocked when Hamas rejected the report when it was issued. It said it was unbalanced and equals the victim with the executioner."
"They attacked us when we accepted the delay of the report, and I'm sure they were also going to attack us if the report was voted and would say Abbas takes men of resistance to international courts for war crimes," said Abbas.
The PNA, meanwhile, said it has started a diplomatic campaign to secure support for voting on a Gaza war report at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which will be on Friday.
Palestinian foreign minister Riyadh al-Maliki said that he is heading to New York Tuesday to participate in the Security Council's special session "to discuss Middle Ease's issues including the Palestinian case."
Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007, and routed Abbas security forces. "Hamas now is inventing excuses in order to keep enjoying the rule of Gaza and to establish their Islamic emirate," said Abbas.
Meanwhile, Fatah party central committee member Mohamed Dahlan told a news conference held in Ramallah that his group recommended Abbas to call for holding general presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 25, "in case a reconciliation pact with Hamas isn't reached."
However, senior Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Radwan told Xinhua that his movement would reject holding any elections before reaching a reconciliation pact that ends the current split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
