Fatah: Israeli threats endanger Abbas' life

“Israeli threats against President Mahmoud Abbas over his commitment to the Palestinian cause endanger his life,” a member of the Palestinian Fatah movement Ibrahim Abu Al-Naga said.

Abu Al-Naga told the Quds news agency in Gaza: “It is not new for Israel to threaten the Palestinian leadership. We paid the price of our commitment to our cause; the late Yasser Arafat is the most obvious example. But, we are not afraid of these threats.”

The former speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council went on to say: “The Palestinian reality is difficult at this stage and this requires us to unite our efforts, end the division and focus on the Palestinian national programme to get out of the crisis. If we continue like this we will be running in circles. The situation compels us to act according to what we have on the ground.”

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip started a campaign a few days ago to support Abbas during the negotiations with Israel. A member of the Fatah movement in Gaza; Jamal Obeid said the campaign came to address the US and Israeli pressure on Abbas “which aims to force the Palestinians to surrender their cause. We want to support the Palestinian leadership”.

Obeid told the Quds news agency that “the campaign started from the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza where the first intifada started in 1987 and changed the entire region and led to the establishment of the first Palestinian Authority.

“We have not lost yet. We can still surprise the US and Israel. The pressure must stop.”

Obeid said the campaign will spread across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and to the refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and to the diaspora in other Arab and European countries.

“We will not allow Israel to assassinate President Abbas like it did Yasser Arafat. We will support our leadership especially during Abbas’ meeting with US President Barack Obama on March 27.”