RAMALLAH, West Bank, 22 July 2007 — The deputy secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Abdulrahim Mallouh, yesterday lashed out at Hamas, Fatah, and his movement over the current split in the Palestinian territories following the Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip by violence last June.
Mallouh, who was released among 255 prisoners on Friday as a good-will gesture from Israel to boost Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a press conference in the West Bank City of Ramallah that all Palestinian factions “must not forget their national responsibilities.”
According to the deputy secretary-general, “the state of division in the Palestinian arena can never assist the higher interests of Palestinian people.”
Mallouh stressed that what Hamas has done in Gaza Strip was “wrong and should not be repeated in the future,” assuring that the PFLP looks forward to “starting serious dialogue, but only after Hamas hands back the Gaza Strip.”
Mallouh called on the Hamas leadership “to step down from the high tree they climbed into.” He called on the Fatah leadership to “practice their role and look for the Palestinian national interests.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine did not come off unscathed, either. Mallouh criticized the PFLP, but also the other factions, for their “inaction in letting the Hamas and Fatah disagreement deteriorate as far as it has.”
With regards to the PLO Central Council calling last week for early presidential and legislative elections, the PFLP leader said: “We should not oppose the elections as they must be held as a final resolution.”
However, Mallouh stated that there are preconditions to be secured before elections, which are the following: the outcome of elections should be accepted and respected, in order to avoid repetition of the past events that followed the elections; elections should be conducted in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip and they should rely on geographic and political unity as well as regional unity; there should be a basic minimum of agreement between Palestinian parties, so as to avoid the elections becoming a means of escalating the conflict anew.
With regard to the participation of his movement in the elections he said, “I can’t decide over the participation of the PFLP in future elections as the Palestinian arena currently witnesses a very complicated crisis that nobody can claim to have solutions for.”
As for the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, Mallouh explained that they face “a double suffering” during the current domestic Palestinian crisis. Mallouh highlighted that Israel is deceiving the international public opinion through the release of a small number of prisoners, while 11,000 still remain jailed in Israeli prisons.
“In the meantime,” he explained, “Israel continues to invade the Palestinian territories, killing and arresting Palestinian activists in addition to demolishing homes and properties.” He called Israeli’s policy as a ‘revolving door’: “before releasing a number of prisoners, the Israeli authorities apprehend the same number, if not more.”
