Abbas is No Moderate
New York – The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has strongly condemned Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief Mahmoud Abbas, PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, and PA Civil Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan for inviting terrorist leaders and groups, including Hamas, to move to Gaza after Israel expels 9,000 Jewish men, women and children from their homes, schools, farms and businesses in August. (Jerusalem Post, 6/27/05)
Those urged to come to Gaza include Hamas leaders Khaled Mashaal, Musa Abu Marzouk, and Imad al-Alami; other invitees included Nayef Hawatmeh and Khaled Abdel Majid of the Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Struggle Front respectively. The PLO’s Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi, who supports violence and suicide bombings, is also planning to move to Gaza. “We want to see you among us,” Dahlan said.
Hamas’ charter calls for the destruction of Israel and for the murder of Jews. The other groups also call for Israel’s destruction and continuation of the “armed struggle.”
This offer was also made to these terror groups by Abbas back in March when he visited Syria. After those meetings, the PA leaders said that they discovered that between the “moderate” leaders and the terrorist leaders, “There are no differences over the objectives.” At the end of these meetings they jointly announced that “they will never give up the demand for the unlimited immigration of these foreign-born Arabs to Israel.”
This latest development gives credence to the statement made by Israeli General Doron Almog, who headed the Southern Command from 2000-2003, that “if Israel transferred control of Gaza’s border with Egypt to the Egyptians or Palestinians, Gaza would become a ‘mini-Afghanistan’. General Yaacov Amidror, former Director of Israeli Military Intelligence Research, added that if Israel leaves Gaza, “it will become a focal point for global terror groups from Hezbullah to al-Quada.”
ZOA President Morton A. Klein said: “The Abbas regime’s invitation to Hamas and other terror leaders to move to Gaza openly exposes the lie that ‘Abbas is a moderate, against violence, and committed to peace.’ One who is committed to non-violence and peace doesn’t show respect to terrorists by welcoming them to open their headquarters in Gaza. Instead of moving toward peace, Abbas is working to insure that the Gaza withdrawal will lead to a terror-haven there. Not only is it fallacious to suggest that this unilateral withdrawal will assist the cause of peace, but it is becoming more clear every day that whenever and wherever Israel pulls out, Palestinian Arab terrorists will take over.
“The PA’s Abbas should be dismantling and disarming Hamas and others and making it clear that their terrorist ilk are not welcome in the PA areas. He should be changing the names of streets, schools and sports teams named after Hamas members and other terrorists. Instead Abbas is bringing more terrorist leaders into the Palestinian areas, after previously welcoming their members into the PA police force and into his Cabinet as well as releasing terrorists from prison, and doing nothing about dozens of Israelis killed and maimed during this phony “cease-fire.” This is a predictable result of the US turning a blind eye to the PA’s refusal to fight the terror and incitement, while President Bush and Condoleezza Rice repeatedly praise Abbas as a “peace-seeker and moderate.”
“Abbas’ actions are wholly inconsistent with the Road Map, with Oslo, and with any serious efforts toward peace. It is also wholly inconsistent with the US policy of ending terror regimes, as Abbas is setting up a new terror regime in Gaza.
“Given these developments, it is no wonder that recent polls show only about 50% of Israelis now support the Gaza Expulsion Plan, while 42% say that no territory should be given to the Palestinians and no settlement should be dismantled even within the framework of a peace agreement. (University of Haifa Center for National Security Studies) It is time for President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon to reconsider the wisdom of Israel leaving Gaza.
“We call on President Bush to make it clear that this latest PA action is completely intolerable, and demand that the PA not invite these killers into Gaza. We also call on President Bush to end all US financial aid to the Palestinian Arabs and end all negotiations until Abbas stops these disgraceful invitations, disarms the terror groups, and ends all incitement.”