The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine denounced the statements of Mahmoud al-Habbash at Friday prayers on December 26, in which he trumpeted the right of the Palestinian Authority and its monopolistic official leadership to pursue its political project with no regard to the vision or input of the Palestinian people and their political parties, a project reflected in the infamous UN Security Council draft that threatens Palestinian fundamental rights. The Front also demanded accountability from PA President Mahmoud Abbas in reference to the statements in al-Habbash’s sermon, which Abbas attended, in the following stateent:
“In his sermon at Friday prayers on Friday, December 26, Mahmoud al-Habbash, former minister, Chief Justice of Palestine, and presidential adviser for religious affairs, shouted at the top of his voice from the pulpit that the Palestinian leadership will continue on its current path enthusiastically, with or without the Palestinian factions and political parties.
It must be noted that PA President Abu Mazen was himself among the worshipers present for Habbash’s speech and clearly heard his statement, which requires an explanation for various reasons:
1. Many believe that what al-Habbash says in his Friday sermon reflects the policy and direction of Abu Mazen.
2. What Habbash said was consistent with the policy of exclusivity of the Palestinian official leadership, as directed both towards the factions and the Palestinian people, as has been visible in the case of the draft submitted by the Security Council, which was not submitted to the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization or to the provisional leadership framework which includes Hamas, Islamic Jihad and independent figures.
3. The Fateh leadership was itself not treated differently from the Executive Committee; one of the members of the central committee has stated explicitly that they did not see the draft until they read it on Web sites.
4. Mr. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, has said that “the Palestinian leadership has realized that there are certain gaps in the draft” and is now requesting eight amendments after submission, which “relate to East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and the settlements, as all settlement activity is illegal and invalid, and solving the refugee issue on the basis of Resolution 194 and adding a paragraph on Palestinian prisoners.”
Our question here to President Abu Mazen and the official leadership: If these were all gaps recognized by reference to the negotiations, what are the implications of your draft and your policy that you will continue to pursue?!
The factions are the leadership and the material of the Palestinian revolution, and it seems that a reminder is necessary that Abu Mazen is not PA President alone, but is chair of a faction called Fateh and its candidate for the presidency of the PA and the PLO. This policy promoted by Mr. Habbash and expressed by the infamous draft presented to the UN Security Council is a wrong, dangerous and harmful policy, violating the Palestinian national program and undermining explicitly the goals of the Palestinian national struggle. This requires a alert and watchful response by all Palestinians, whether they are part of factions or not.”
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment