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In Private, PA Leadership Opposes Gaza Protests
(Jerusalem Post) Adam Rasgon - Despite its public expressions of solidarity, the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah privately opposes the ongoing demonstrations at the Gaza-Israel border. Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, "The [Palestinian leadership] is not supportive of the protests because suddenly all of the focus in the Palestinian arena has shifted to Hamas and Gaza and they have become irrelevant. Secondly, they are also worried that the protests will spill over to the West Bank and potentially create security problems there." "Third, the protests are thwarting Abbas' attempts to levy new sanctions against Hamas and Gaza. Even though he wants to put new sanctions in place, he feels that he cannot while Israel and Palestinians in Gaza are standing off against each other." On Sunday at a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee, PA President Mahmoud Abbas did not mention the protests in Gaza.