Abbas warns of painful steps against rival Hamas
'Things will be painful,' says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, referring to his promise to cut Hamas salaries and even stop paying Israel for Gaza's electricity, in an attempt to pressure Hamas to cede ground.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that "things will be painful" for political rival Hamas, referring to recent financial steps he has taken to pressure the Islamic militant rulers of the Gaza Strip.
Abbas spoke in a meeting with Arab ambassadors late Thursday before leaving Washington where he had met with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday about resuming peace talks with Israel.
Hamas, which seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007, has dismissed his strategy of negotiations as a waste of time.
Abbas recently warned he would cut salaries, aid and subsidies to Gaza to force the militants to cede ground. Earlier this week, his West Bank-based government announced it will stop paying for electricity Israel sends to power-starved Gaza.
Hamas, for its part, says it would not bow to pressure from Abbas.
Trump opened Wednesday's joint press conference with Abbas by reiterating his commitment toward brokering a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. He urged Abbas to work with his administration to acheiving this goal, before emphasizing that the US is ready to help the Palestinians develop and improve their economy.
"We will get this done," Trump promised, noting he will work as a "mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator" to broker a deal between the warring sides. In his own remarks, Abbas focused on specific demands that the PA will be sticking to in talks with Israel: namely, a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state and Israel returning to its 1967 borders and ending its 50-year "occupation" of the Palestinian people.
Still, Abbas stated that he believes it is possible to reach peace between both parties, adding that "We are coming into a new opportunity, a new horizon that would enable us to bring about peace." He later reported that while he and Trump did not get into specifics, he believes the US can play an important role as mediator between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Speaking to Trump at their joint press conference, Abbas said, "I believe that we are capable under your leadership and under your courageous stewardship and your wisdom as well as your great negotiating ability ... I believe we can be partners—true partners to you—to bring about a historic peace treaty," Abbas said. "Now, Mr. President, with you we have hope."
