Mahmud Abbas urges Palestinians to abandon the Armed Intifada by Jerusalem Post / News 24 - South Africa 5:11am 27th Dec, 2004   Dec. 28, 2004    "Barghouti: Disengagement is a win for Palestinians", by Khaled Abu Toameh. (Jerusalem Post)    Israel's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank is a victory for the Palestinian resistance, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said on Monday.    Former Palestinian Authority security minister Muhammad Dahlan met with Barghouti, who is serving five life terms for his role in terror-related deaths, and discussed with him the upcoming election for the leadership of the PA and the latest developments in the aftermath of the death of Yasser Arafat.    Dahlan quoted Barghouti as saying the Palestinians should turn the "liberated areas" into a model of political success in order to prove to the world that they are capable of controlling their own state in the future. The meeting, the first of its kind since Barghouti's arrest, lasted for more than three hours and was held in the presence of an Israeli security officer. Sources in Gaza City said the meeting was arranged through MK Taleb a-Sanaa (United Arab List), who in recent weeks met twice with Barghouti.    Barghouti had originally planned to run in the January 9 election, but was forced to drop his candidacy following intensive pressure and criticism from Fatah leaders. Since then, Barghouti has announced his support for PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), who was elected as Fatah's sole candidate.    Barghouti's wife, Fadwa, appeared alongside Abbas when he kicked off his election campaign in El-Bireh on Saturday. Her presence at the rally was designed to send the message to Barghouti's supporters that they should vote for Abbas. Dahlan said Barghouti reaffirmed his backing for Abbas's candidacy, telling Dahlan that Abbas was the only candidate capable of rallying the majority of the Palestinians behind him.    Dahlan said he also discussed with Barghouti the possibility of reaching a temporary truce with Israel. "A cease-fire would be possible if Israel halts its aggression against the Palestinians," Dahlan quoted Barghouti as saying. "Marwan is an important leader and he will play a significant role in Palestinian politics in the next phase, whether he's in prison or outside," Dahlan added. Dahlan, who served as security minister when Abbas was prime minister for four months last year, is expected to play a key security role after the election.    Ramallah. 26/12/2004 (News 24 - South Africa)    Presidential election frontrunner Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinians to abandon the armed intifada on Sunday, saying that independence could only be achieved through peaceful means.    Abbas said that the Palestinians could not hope to secure a military victory over the Israelis and that the use of weapons would only be counter-productive to the national cause. "I believe that it is clear that a military solution is impossible," the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman told a gathering of business leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah.    "The only way is the choice of peace. It is impossible to liberate Palestine with the use of weapons because the balance of power is not with us." Abbas, who is running for the dominant Fatah faction, is the overwhelming favourite to succeed the late Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat in an election on January 9.    While the former prime minister has been a consistent critic of the militarisation of the Palestinian uprising, he made no reference to the conduct of the intifada in a hardline speech at the launch of his campaign on Saturday. However in his speech to the business leaders, who have seen the local economy devastated by the impact of the violence, he stressed his belief that "the use of weapons has a harmful effect on us."    Abbas' campaign launch speech, when he demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from all territory occupied since 1967 and the freeing of all Palestinian prisoners, had disappointed Israelis who have been looking to his expected election victory as a chance to revive the peace process. However his speech on Sunday would have confounded the fears of the likes of deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert who had expressed fears that Abbas could become "a prisoner of his own rhetoric". Olmert said that the real test of Abbas' character would come after his expected election victory on January 9. "In any case, the real question is whether he will act against terrorism after the election. If he passes this test it will represent a radical change from the time of Arafat but I am not sure he has decided to this," he added.    A source close to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the government was not particularly perturbed by Abbas' comments. "He will not be judged on what he says now but on what he does after the election especially with the war against terrorism and how he handles the armed groups," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. While Sharon boycotted Arafat completely, he met Abbas on a number of occasions during the Palestinian's brief tenure as prime minister last year. Visit the related web page
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