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Countdown for the Hamas Government

[Ha'aretz] Danny Rubinstein - The chairman of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, has already made up his mind to disperse or put an end to the Hamas government. Last week Abbas declared: "Bread is more important than democracy," a sentence quoted in all the Palestinian media. True, the Hamas government rose to power through democratic elections, but it is not able to function, it does not pay salaries, it does not provide bread, and it cannot continue to rule. Hamas Interior Minister Said Sayam says Abbas intends to depose the Hamas leaders in a way that is tantamount to an anti-democratic coup, and that they plan to fight against this. Abbas has invited the members of the central elections committee to meet with him and he is preparing them for the possibility that there will be elections or a referendum. In addition, he has put senior military commander Gen. Haj Ismail back on active service. Hamas, for its part, has announced the organization of a new armed operational force of the Palestinian Interior Ministry in the West Bank. The U.S. and many other countries, certainly Israel, are pressing Abbas to act forcefully and to crush Hamas. Even more interested in this are the Arab states. Almost all these regimes are afraid of Muslim opposition in their countries. It is clearly in their interest to bring about the failure of a Muslim-oriented government such as that of Hamas.
2006-10-23 01:00:00
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