Abbas Urged To Dissolve Palestinian Authority
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - In apparent pressure tactic on Israel, PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is being urged by senior members of the Palestinian leadership to dissolve the Palestinian Authority. A spokesman for PLO Foreign Minister Farouq Kaddoumi, who sees himself, and not Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, as the true foreign representative of the Palestinians, said the move should be considered in order to force Israel to withdraw its forces to positions held before September 2000, release frozen tax revenues and free jailed members of the Hamas leadership. It would also have the effect of undoing the Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement, better known as the "Oslo Accords." Said Kaddoumi aide Ghassan al-Masri to The Jerusalem Post, "It's inconceivable that the Palestinians should pay the cost of their occupation by Israel. Why shouldn't Israel, in its capacity as an occupation force, bear the expenses of our education, health and social welfare systems? Why should it be an inexpensive occupation for Israel?" The Oslo Accords were signed precisely to give the Palestinians an opportunity to make a better life for themselves. But their leadership has by and large chosen to continue fighting Israel instead, culminating in the outbreak of the "Al Aqsa Intifada" in September 2000. Things got worse for the Palestinians in January of this year when they overwhelming |
