Word: gaza
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...defend itself." Some accounts in the region suggested that Washington had prevailed on Abbas to squelch the U.N. probe; others alleged that Abbas had been blackmailed into doing so by Israelis who threatened to release tapes that purportedly show senior Palestinian Authority figures enthusiastically backing the Israeli operation in Gaza, in the hopes that it would "finish Hamas." (Israeli officials dispute that suggestion.) What is clear, however, is that the Goldstone report had been applauded by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, where more than 1,300 people died during the three-week offensive that also reduced most...
...Hamas had been unsure of how to act on the Goldstone report, Abbas made it easy for them by his Geneva intervention. The decision spurred a flurry of demonstrations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, drawing furious condemnation from leaders of Hamas and Fatah and demands for an inquiry into how it came about. Hamas legislators convened to discuss the issue in Gaza City, with some of the movement's leaders accusing Abbas of treason. "If the Palestinian Legislative Council, which represents the Palestinian people and which is freely elected [and in which Hamas is the ruling party...
...Tuesday Hamas police held a Gaza City press conference demanding the arrest of those responsible for putting the Goldstone report on hold at the U.N. And Syria, which backs Hamas, postponed a planned visit to Damascus by Abbas. Hamas has also warned that the U.N. move presents a serious obstacle to the unity deal that it had been expected to sign with Fatah later this month. Indeed, Palestinian public opinion has turned so sharply against Abbas over this issue that Hamas may be tempted to hold off on reconciling with its rivals while its political position is strengthened...
...Gaza human-rights organizations, some of which have been highly critical of Hamas' abuses, were among those most vocally denouncing what was widely seen as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause...
...worked so hard on [the Goldstone report]," says Mahmoud Abu Rahma, communications director for Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, who says his organization provided the U.N. fact-finding team with hundreds of documents. "We were familiar with attempts by Israel to repress the report and ... we are familiar with the position of the United States, which is more or less in line with Israel ... But [this] came from the Palestinian Authority ... This is not acceptable." (See pictures of life under Hamas in Gaza...