Fatah party of Abbas: Israeli ground attack on Gaza won't bring security

Sunday January 04, 2009 00:55 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

The rival Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, stated this evening that the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza won't bring security to Israelis.

Fahmi Aza'reer

Fahmi Aza'reer, spokesman of Fatah in the West Bank, was quoted as saying "any Israeli attempt to reoccupy the Gaza Strip won't make the Palestinian people succumb to the Israeli occupation."

The spokesman called on the international community to takeimmediate responsibility by stopping what he termed "the Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people", and he called for a return to a ceasefire.

The Fatah party has been at loggerheads with the ruling Hamas party in Gaza since Hamas took over power after the 2006 parliamentary elections. President Abbas outlawed Hamas after the party seized control of Gaza amidst factional fighting with his Fatah party in June of 2007.

Abbas condemned the attacks on Gaza, calling for an immediate halt to Israel's brutal campaign while appealing to the United Nations Security Council to convene swiftly. Saeb Eriqat, Abbas's top peace negotiator, was quoted as saying "it is time for Palestinian national unity, it is the time for reuniting the Palestinian people in the face of such Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people."

Last week, Israel began a massive aerial offensive on Gaza, saying it is targeting the Hamas party. Israel troops started this evening a ground offensive on the coastal Strip, as the death toll of Gazans, in the last 8 days, hit 257, including scores of women and children.

west bank | israeli attacks | news report rami at imemc dot org