Some key leaders of the Fatah Party have asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign and to disband the Palestinian Authority. The move was suggested to protest Israel's raid on a PA-run prison in Jericho earlier this week to capture a militant wanted for ordering the murder of an Israeli government minister.
The raid was seen in the Palestinian territories as a blow to Abbas's prestige. Abbas condemned the raid as an insult to the Palestinian people.
According to a report by Reuters, Taysir Nasrallah, a senior Fatah member, said that the suggestion was made at a meeting Thursday night. If the PA were dissolved, Israel would be forced to resume being an occupying power in the Gaza Strip. It would also render the parliamentary victory of Hamas in January meaningless. Critics say it would result in chaos and possibly civil war.
Meanwhile, Hamas leaders announced that they will hand in their proposed list of cabinet appointees to Abbas on Saturday. Fatah and other Palestinian factions have refused to join in a coalition government with Hamas so the list will consist solely of Hamas nominees.
Hamas continued to take a rejectionist line with regard to recognition of Israel and recognizing past agreements between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Authority.
Speaking from Damascus, exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal told reporters Thursday night, 'Our fate is to combine resistance and politics, but resistance remains the basis and politics only a branch. Being in power is only a means to an end for Hamas. Power is not our ultimate goal. If it becomes one, let power go to hell. It will not hold us back from our targets which we hold dear.'
Meshal also said, 'We and the Zionists have a date with destiny.' Then he threatened, 'If they want a fight, we are ready for it. If they want a war, we are the sons of war. If they want a struggle, we are for it to the end. We have more stamina than Israel and will defeat it, God willing.'
It remains to be seen if Mr. Abbas will accept the slate of proposed cabinet members appointed by Hamas and if he does not, what will follow in this unprecedented and delicate situation in PA politics.
