In the wake of another wave of violence, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas made a televised speech on Sunday, calling on both Israel and the Palestinians to calm the deteriorating situation.
The speech came following a series of Palestinian terror attacks and Israeli targeted killings of Hamas leaders. In it, ‘Abbas said that “Palestinian blood is sacred, and the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) will fight strongly against any attempt to engage in inner conflicts.” Nevertheless, the P.A. chairman said no authority is above that of the PA, and no weapon is legitimate beside those of the P.A. By that, ‘Abbas reiterated his call from the past few days to the Palestinian factions – mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad – to cease their violence against Israel.
In his speech, ‘Abbas blamed Israel for the recent eruption of violence, which caused a “clear setback to the mutual understandings we achieved.”
‘Abbas again spoke against the illegal armed marches in the streets, and said the P.A. will not allow them. He then went on to express his objection to the Palestinian suicide bombings as well as to the firing of rockets at Israel, which “hurt our supreme national interests.”
The P.A. chairman concluded by referring to the Gaza withdrawal. He said the withdrawal must come as the first step in the process of complete withdrawal by Israel from all post-1967 occupied territories.