Abbas opposes "armed resistance" but supports all-out Arab war against Israel
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas:
“At the [Arab] summit [in March 2010] there was talk of armed resistance, and we opposed this call. We opposed it for a simple reason: all sectors of the Palestinian people are opposed to armed resistance. We and Hamas. Therefore, if we do not want armed resistance, why do the Arabs want to force it upon us? We also said that if the Arabs want war, we are with them. If they don’t want war, and at the same time do not want peace, a situation of neither peace nor war is impossible. We said that the Arab [Peace] Initiative is still relevant. Unfortunately, some say that Israel does not want it – and of course that is correct – but the Arabs have done nothing to promote it, neither on the international level nor on the local level. I personally have asked Arab journalists to publish this initiative, but they refused.”
Note: In similar statements Abbas has explained the opposition to violence with the fact that Palestinians lack the "capabilities" and that the international community "does not allow for it." Click to view item
“At the [Arab] summit [in March 2010] there was talk of armed resistance, and we opposed this call. We opposed it for a simple reason: all sectors of the Palestinian people are opposed to armed resistance. We and Hamas. Therefore, if we do not want armed resistance, why do the Arabs want to force it upon us? We also said that if the Arabs want war, we are with them. If they don’t want war, and at the same time do not want peace, a situation of neither peace nor war is impossible. We said that the Arab [Peace] Initiative is still relevant. Unfortunately, some say that Israel does not want it – and of course that is correct – but the Arabs have done nothing to promote it, neither on the international level nor on the local level. I personally have asked Arab journalists to publish this initiative, but they refused.”
Note: In similar statements Abbas has explained the opposition to violence with the fact that Palestinians lack the "capabilities" and that the international community "does not allow for it." Click to view item