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Abbas calls for end of armed uprising
The armed uprising against Israel is a mistake and must end, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published Tuesday, signaling his determination to change direction after Yasser Arafat's death. In an interview with the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published Tuesday, Abbas said Palestinians should resist Israeli occupation without resorting to violence. It is important to "keep the uprising away from arms because the uprising is a legitimate right of the people to express their rejection of the occupation by popular and social means," Abbas said. "Using the weapons was harmful and has got to stop," Abbas said. He [also] said that currently Palestinian security is in a state of chaos. "Frankly, the Palestinian (security) apparatus needs discipline. There is security chaos, that's why were demanding and are seeking to unify the security apparatus," Abbas told Asharq al-Awsat. Abbas also said he was in talks with the militant Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to bring them into the framework of the PLO, an umbrella group for Palestinian parties.
Posted by: ed 2004-12-14 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=51217 |