With the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip less than two weeks away, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the Palestinian Legislative Council that the pullout needed to be orderly and smooth and that Palestinians are responsible for maintaining security during the transition.
'This will be a prerequisite to ensure that the withdrawal will take place in a civilized manner,' Abbas said. 'We'll be able to show the world that we deserve our independence and our freedom. We have no other choice.'
Abbas also told his audience, 'We want the Israelis to leave. They want to leave -- so let us let them leave.'
Israel is scheduled to dismantle all settlements in the Gaza Strip and evacuate the 9,000 settlers living there. A vocal group of settlers opposes the withdrawal and has vowed to disrupt it but Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is determined to go ahead with the plan despite opposition.
Abbas called the Gaza plan 'only the first withdrawal' and warned Palestinians 'The road ahead is long.'
In the same speech, Abbas declared that Palestinian parliamentary elections will be held sometime in January.
'I will issue a decree that parliamentary elections will be held next January. We will pick a day but it will be in January,' he announced.
The elections were originally scheduled to be held July 17 but Abbas postponed them 'indefinitely.' Many observers feel the postponement was largely due to concerns that the militant group Hamas would get too many votes at the expense of Abbas' Fatah faction.
A senior Hamas official, Saeed Seyam told Reuters, 'We have reservations regarding the new date. We hope they will be really committed to it.'
Abbas had asked Hamas to join a coalition government to rule Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. Hamas, which is on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations and remains dedicated to the destruction of Israel, refused the offer.
