Palestinian parties respond to Abbas' speech

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have criticized Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the Central Council of the PLO, describing it as a mere recitation of historical facts bit little beyond that.

The spokesman of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Daoud Shihab, said that the Palestinian Authority is really responsible for the failure of of the national project. He went on to say that withdrawing from the Oslo Accords project means rejecting the recognition of Israel and abandoning the discourse of the two-state solution.

Shihab said: “What we heard yesterday in the long opening speech of the Central Council meeting reinforced our conviction that boycotting this meeting is the best and safest position to preserve our people’s welfare and our cause’s interests.”

He pointed out that the speech by the President of the Authority Mahmoud Abbas is full of contradictions and lacks clarity.

Ahmad Al-Mudallal, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, said that the  speech was a mere recitation of  historical facts.

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“Effective decisions should have been announced in the president’s talk who cynically talked about the electricity issue and the Palestinians’ luxurious life,” he said.

“The president should reassure the Palestinian people that reconciliation is in full swing,” he said. He pointed out: “The decisions that will be taken by the Central Council will not be different from the president’s speech.”

He stressed that what was required was to abandon the Oslo Accords, and to withdraw recognition of the Israel. “We are now talking about a different Palestinian reality,” he said while stressing the need to hold the provisional leadership framework in Cairo.

Popular Front

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) quoted its leader Rabah Muhanna, who said that the opening session of the Palestinian Central Council included a speech by President Abu Mazen which took more than three hours. It appeared as a lesson in history and did not address the issue of the Central Council meeting except in the last ten minutes.

He added, “As expected, President Abu Mazen spoke in unspecified and vague language which was not consistent with the seriousness of the threats facing the Palestinian cause.”

In addition, it did not address the need to achieve national unity and the reconsideration of the punitive measures against the people of the Gaza Strip.

He explained that the speech has not dealt with ending the Oslo Agreement. On the contrary, it voiced a sense of determination to continue working with the Oslo Accords despite their failure.