Source says Abbas dismisses government

[barb162]

June 14, 2007 - 6:04 PM

Source says Abbas dismisses government
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas signed decrees dissolving the Palestinian government and declaring a state of emergency across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an Abbas aide said on Thursday.


"The decrees have been signed, sacking (Prime Minister) Ismail Haniyeh and his government, and declaring a state of emergency," said Abbas's media adviser Nabil Amr.


A second Abbas aide said that under a third decree the president will form an emergency government to replace the unity government his Fatah movement formed with Haniyeh of Hamas in March.

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Source_says_Abbas_to_dismiss_government.html?siteSect=143&sid=7920700&cKey=1181843689000

[barb162]

1. Abbas sacks Hamas-led government

Last Updated: Thursday, 14 June 2007, 18:53 GMT 19:53 UK


Abbas sacks Hamas-led government

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed the Hamas-led coalition government and declared a state of emergency.
Aides to Mr Abbas said the president would call elections as soon as possible in an effort to end fighting between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza.

Mr Abbas will now rule the West Bank and Gaza by presidential decree.

snip
I have issued the following decree: the sacking of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

"Second, the proclamation of the state of emergency in all the Palestinian territories because of the criminal war in the Gaza Strip, the taking over of the security services of the Palestinian Authority, the military coup and the armed rebellion by outlaws."


snip
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6754499.stm

[sabbat hunter]

2. more details

The move comes after Hamas announced Thursday that Gaza is now under its Islamic rule, the first step to becoming an Islamic state.


Currently, there is no government control in Gaza, according to Palestinian legislator Saeb Erakat.

"Gaza is now officially out of our control as the Palestinian Authority," said Erakat, who is aligned with the Fatah party.

He blamed a "renegade force" in Gaza for staging a "major coup d'etat."

"This is a coup against the president, against the Palestinian people, and against the Palestinian cause," Erakat told CNN.

He called the situation "very, very grave" and said the violence is "setting us back 50 years at least."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/14/gaza/index.html

[barb162]

3. Translation: Looks like more fighting to come.

Or possibly two Palestinian states? Or?

[LeftishBrit]

4. Very grave indeed.

'He called the situation "very, very grave" and said the violence is "setting us back 50 years at least."'

Yes, it's getting to look like that. So sad, especially for the Palestinian civilians.

[barb162]

5. They had some peace marchers shown yesterday in Gaza

who were very, very brave. This one peace marcher walked up to a man with a rifle in the middle of a fire fight and just started pushing him back. The militant started moving back!


Peace marchers defy Gaza bullets
By Charles Levinson in Gaza City
Last Updated: 2:33am BST 14/06/2007

Amal Hellis marched into the crossfire in Gaza City yesterday to plea for peace.

Young girls and old women draped in Palestinian flags stood defiant in the crossfire


"I am not afraid. I will die to save my family and to save Palestine," said Mrs Hellis, 35, whose younger son Refaat, 17, is a Hamas militant, while her elder son Medhat, 19, is a member of the Fatah-controlled security services.

Her sons are on opposing sides of what has become a civil war in the Gaza Strip.

snip
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/14/wgaza114.xml

[LeftishBrit]

8. That story brings tears to my eyes...

She is a real heroine, in a heartbreaking situation.

[barb162]

9. The sick fact is one of her kids could be killing the other.

And I'll bet more than a few parents are in the same position as she.

[rayofreason]

6. Dismiss the government?

What government?

What passes for "government" has been an uneasy truce between two violent and corrupt gangs, and finally Hamas decided to whack Fatah and take over Gaza.

Words like "protest", "state of emergency" , "dissolving the Palestinian government" are so ironic and incommensurate with the reality. What is going on is more like a MegaSopranos episode. And, unfortuantely, things have not yet hit rock bottom. Wait until Hamas finishes clearing out Fatah in Gaza and starts building its "Islamic state". First thing Hamas will demand is international aid, and they won't care how many of their own they have to kill to get it. They need the money. Killing Jews is expensive.

[sabbat hunter]

7. 3 state solution

maybe something along the lines of pakistan, bangledash, india?

a state of gaza, palestine and israel. palestine east and west?


seems like though that the violence is only in the gaza strip.

it is a pure disaster there. i wonder how better the situation would have been if arafat didnt steal all those billions and instead spent it on the palestinians

[barb162]

11. If the money had been distributed equitably among the people

all these years, I wonder if any of this would be happening. Without corruption and waste of billions over a span of many years, maybe the militant groups would not have gained so much power or prevailed in the elections.

[barb162]

10. Abbas was never an effective leader

IMHO. And he never had an effective government, also IMHO.

[rayofreason]

12. Abbas...

...is only the latest in a series of corrupt gangsters that passes for leadership among the Palestinians.

I find it amazing the peole who call themselves "progressive" and yet will make soothing noises about support for Palestinians, ignore the violent, misogynistic death cult, and castigate Israel, a liberal, law-abiding democracy.