Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Gaza - Ma'an – Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the An-Nasser Brigades refused to participate in the all-factions meeting called by President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, while Fatah officials called for wide participation
Hamas leader Muhammad Nazzal made the announcement for his party during an interview with Al-Arabiya television Monday evening. Hamas will not try to make any political gains on the backs of the Gaza massacre, he said.
Islamic Jihad sent a statement to Ma’an saying “what is required now is resistance,” and further stated that it was the party’s duty to defend “our land and our people and respond to the massacres committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
They called for unity in resistance activities, but spurned Abbas’ call for national unity.
Abu Abeer with the An-Nasser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said that all factions should refuse Abbas’ invitation and rally all Gazans, encouraging patience in such harsh times.
Senior Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu An-Naja, however, insisted that all factions must gather and assess the bloody events in Gaza.
Abu An-Naga sent a statement to Ma’an calling the leaders of all security services to stop political arrests immediately and release all political detainees. He said that now is the time when parties can prepare the political climate for a national reconciliation and save the people of the Gaza Strip.
He further called for an end to all media campaigns that further divide the Palestinian people, and asserted the importance of unity in crisis.
