Abbas Accuses Hamas of Aid to Al Qaeda
'Round and 'round and 'round we go...
Where it stops, nobody knows.
**
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has accused his rivals in Hamas of having opened the door to Al Qaeda in Gaza.
Al Qaeda feels insulted, and denies such ridiculous accusations.
**
By ISABEL KERSHNER
Published: July 11, 2007
JERUSALEM, July 10 — In an interview on Monday with Italy’s RAI TV, Mr. Abbas, of Fatah, said, “Thanks to the support of Hamas, Al Qaeda is entering Gaza.”
The charge, denied by Hamas, underscored the depth of Mr. Abbas’s hostility toward Hamas since it seized control of Gaza nearly a month ago in a rout of Fatah forces.
A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, responded that Hamas had “no links” to Al Qaeda, adding that Mr. Abbas was “trying to mislead international opinion to win support for his demand to deploy international forces in Gaza.”
Hamas has tried to distance itself from Al Qaeda and its agenda of global jihad, saying its struggle is confined to the Israeli-Palestinian arena.
Al Qaeda’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, called on Muslims around the world to help finance and arm Hamas in an audiotape posted on the Internet in late June. Then, Mr. Abu Zuhri said, “Hamas has its own program, regardless of the comments of this group or that group.”
Previously, Mr. Zawahri criticized Hamas for going into politics and joining with Fatah in a unity government, eliciting an angry reaction from Hamas...
Published: July 11, 2007
JERUSALEM, July 10 — In an interview on Monday with Italy’s RAI TV, Mr. Abbas, of Fatah, said, “Thanks to the support of Hamas, Al Qaeda is entering Gaza.”
The charge, denied by Hamas, underscored the depth of Mr. Abbas’s hostility toward Hamas since it seized control of Gaza nearly a month ago in a rout of Fatah forces.
A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, responded that Hamas had “no links” to Al Qaeda, adding that Mr. Abbas was “trying to mislead international opinion to win support for his demand to deploy international forces in Gaza.”
Hamas has tried to distance itself from Al Qaeda and its agenda of global jihad, saying its struggle is confined to the Israeli-Palestinian arena.
Al Qaeda’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, called on Muslims around the world to help finance and arm Hamas in an audiotape posted on the Internet in late June. Then, Mr. Abu Zuhri said, “Hamas has its own program, regardless of the comments of this group or that group.”
Previously, Mr. Zawahri criticized Hamas for going into politics and joining with Fatah in a unity government, eliciting an angry reaction from Hamas...
posted by jillosophy at 7/11/2007 10:58:00 AM
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