Rival paramilitary forces are creating a dangerous situation in the Palestinian territories and must be brought under control under President Mahmoud Abbas, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.
Rice said the deployment of armed contingents from Abbas' Fatah faction and the militant Hamas group that has formed a new government had created a "very tense" climate in the territories. "We obviously believe that President Abbas, who we believe has the confidence of the Palestinian people, should be able to exercise his responsibilities as president of the country," Rice said. "All Palestinian parties ought to respect the need of the Palestinian people to have a secure environment and not to have a situation in which there is violence in the streets. The Palestinian leadership has every obligation to get control of it." |