Abbas defends peace agenda

PALESTINIAN leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he’d rather resign than let extremists block his peace agenda, but expressed hope that the Islamic militant Hamas, poised to make a strong showing in next week’s Palestinian parliament election, will moderate its views if it shares power.

Abbas acknowledged he is worn out after a year in power, but denied a report in Israeli’s Maariv daily yesterday, based on US and European sources, that he is depressed and losing control.

“I’m not disappointed,” he told a small group of reporters in his office, sitting in an armchair, with gold-framed photos of himself and the late Yasser Arafat as a backdrop.

“I’m exhausted after trying to stabilise the security situation and ensuring that the elections are fair and transparent.”

Polls show that Abbas’ Fatah Party is steadily losing ground against Hamas; a poll last week gave Fatah only 35% of the vote, compared to 31% for Hamas, or a 10-point gain for the militants within a month.

Abbas said that after the election there would be no room for militias, a reference to the armed wings of Hamas and other groups, but stopped short of promising a full-fledged crackdown as Israel is demanding.

He added he would not allow guns to be present at polling stations.

Fatah infighting, a legacy of corruption and Abbas’ bland leadership style have been blamed for the decline of the party that dominated Palestinian politics for four decades.

By contrast, the disciplined Hamas has run a unified campaign and toned down its violent ideology in an attempt to appeal to mainstream voters eager for change.