Get the popcorn ready. This should be fun to watch.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared illegal a Hamas security force in Gaza, after a spasm of violence between fighters of the ruling Islamist group and those loyal to his faction.
Abbas said the Hamas Executive Force had not received official approval and demanded that it integrate into other more established Palestinian security services.
"The 'Executive Force' has never been ... independent, we said it must be part of the security forces," Abbas said in Bethlehem, where he was due to take part in Orthodox Christmas Eve celebrations on Saturday.
"Any force requires a decree and this has not been issued. Whoever says that (the Executive Force) is independent is defying the law and the constitution," Abbas added.
Throwing down the gauntlet to Abbas, the governing Hamas militant movement's Executive Force said it would double its size to 12,000 personnel.
No comments:
Post a Comment