Palestinian Figures Lash Out at PA Officials' Unwise Remarks on Iran
News number: 8906151093 15:00 | 2010-09-06
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8906151093

TEHRAN (FNA)- A number of senior Palestinian political figures lambasted the
recent remarks by the spokesman of Acting Palestinian Authority Chief
Mahmoud Abbas against Iran, describing the comments as indicative of the
PA's irresponsibility.

"The offensive remarks of Palestinian Authority Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh
about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the International Quds Day is
indicative of the PA's irresponsibility and serious crisis between the
negotiating team and the Israelis in direct talks," Hamas political leader
Khezr Habib told FNA on Sunday.

On Friday, addressing large crowds of people at the Quds Day rally,
President Ahmadinejad accused the Middle East mediators who have been
engaged in direct talks with Israeli officials of being accomplices to
Israel's atrocities against Palestinians, saying, "Only Palestinians could
decide on their own lands not foreign powers."

A day later, Abu Rudaineh reportedly questioned Ahmadinejad's right to
Iran's presidency and said, "He is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or
the Palestinian Authority chief".

Meanwhile, Kayed al-Ghoul, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine reiterated Iran and other Muslim
states' rights to defend the Palestinians.

"As Palestinian nationals, we feel obliged to show gratitude to the Leader
of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and other Iranian
dignitaries for their support for the Palestinian nation and the issue of
Palestine," al-Ghoul said.

Condemning Abu Rudaineh's statements, Secretary of the Hamas faction in the
Palestinian parliament, Mushir al-Masri, also blamed the PA for "turning
into a tool in the hands of the US and the Israeli regime" to "win their
satisfaction."

Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington on
Thursday to resume direct negotiations 20 months after talks ran aground in
the wake of Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war against the Gaza Strip,
which claimed the lives of at least 1,400 Palestinians.

Palestinians have mostly voiced opposition against the US-sponsored talks
between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Tel Aviv, saying the
negotiations would only embolden the Israeli occupation.