Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper

By Daoud Kuttab

“I have had it up to here,” said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the emir of Qatar and the head of Hamas.

“I have had it with Hamas, with Arabs with Israel and even with Fateh.”

Abbas’ words and the minutes of the meetings of the three on the eve of the ceasefire agreement were made public by the Lebanese daily Al Akhbar recently.

With angry words, Abbas accused Hamas of lying. He said Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal’s commitment to limit the resistance in the West Bank to non-violent action has proved to be wrong. Proof, the capture by Israel of 93 Hamas supporters allegedly plotting to start a violent Intifada and try to overthrow Abbas.

While Mishaal vehemently denied and belittled the Israeli allegation, Abbas said he had evidence that Hamas had arms in the West Bank from an intelligence officer.

“Almost daily we catch them with weapons,” he told the two.

“I tell Farraj to take away their weapons and release them after a short imprisonment.”

Abbas also accused Hamas of creating a shadow government in Gaza, despite the agreement on the unity government, and of irresponsibly prolonging the war by refusing the initial Egyptian offer, which was later accepted.

Abbas did not give details about his dissatisfaction with Fateh, but one can easily assume that he is referring to the constant bickering and internal fighting among the Fateh leadership over petty issues and personal interests.

The most important part of the Palestinian leader’s efforts appears to focus on obtaining the support of the Islamic Hamas movement and fellow Arabs for his new strategy aimed at ending the Israeli occupation. Continue Reading »