Hamas, faced with a deadline today to accept Israel's right to exist, called off its truce with Israel and urged that a proposed referendum be called off:
Haniyeh called for Abbas to back down for the sake of Palestinian unity.
Unity; that's a good one. Note to Hamas: Unity is easy to achieve. Simply respect the will of the people as expressed in a referendum.
Abbas brushed off the request, and is expected to make a Saturday announcement establishing a referendum on July 31.
In yet more evidence of Hamas' troubled position, there's this gem:
Haniyeh said [the referendum] had "no legal and constitutional basis" and urged Palestinians to stop debating the issue.
"Please, folks, just shut up and stop putting us in a tight spot."
Seriously, folks, if this works and Palestine formally recognizes Israel, Abbas may deserve a Nobel. This is gutsy politics. Self-interested, true, but game-changing.
Palestine, Hamas, Abbas, politics, midtopia
No comments:
Post a Comment