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Palestinians 'inspired by Africa'
29/01/2007 15:18 - (SA)
Chris Otton
Addis Ababa - Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas told African leaders on Monday that their fight for independence served as an inspiration to his people's quest for statehood.
Calling the Palestinians the last victims of colonialism, Abbas said he remained confident the "long road" to independence would be completed but also acknowledged that hope was diminishing as a result of Israeli policies and internal divisions.
"The support which you have provided our people has reinforced our hope and belief that the fight for independence and setting up of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital will be achieved," Abbas said in a keynote speech at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"The fight of African leaders to free themselves from colonialism and racism is a great source of inspiration to our people who are the last people to still be the victims of colonialism."
The African Union has been one of the most steadfast supporters of the Palestinian cause.
AU criticises Israel
In a report released at the ongoing summit by its executive council, the AU launched a scathing attack on Israel for its "repressive measures, inhumane aggressions and all state terrorism acts perpetrated against defenceless Palestinian civilians".
The same report also attacked Israel's targeted killing operations against leading Palestinian militants, "ongoing invasions of the majority of the Palestinian territories as well as heinous crimes and massacres".
The AU includes a number of Arab countries, including Egypt, which is one of the few Muslim countries with diplomatic relations with Israel.
Abbas's address came amid fresh violence back in the Middle East with a suicide bomb going off in Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat and rival Palestinian factions clashing again in Gaza despite agreeing to Saudi-mediated talks.
Abbas said that events in Gaza, where 30 people have been killed in four days in the worst bout of internecine violence in a year, were "tragic".
'We will not allow any civil war'
"These tragic events and internal killings stem mainly from the existence of numerous authorities," he said in reference to the rivalry between official security services which he controls and rival forces loyal to the government of the Islamist movement Hamas.
"We will not allow any civil war as Palestinian blood is sacred," he added.
Abbas also reiterated his threat issued in December to call early elections if the disputes between Hamas and Fatah are not resolved and he cannot find agreement on the formation of a national unity cabinet.
"The alternative would be to refer to the people and organise legislative and presidential elections," he said.
Hamas, which beat Abbas's Fatah movement by a landslide in parliamentary elections a year ago, has warned the president against calling a fresh ballot.
- AFP
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