Hamas gains in backlash to Abbas speech
President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech in which he emphasized security coordination with Israel has seen a fierce backlash from the Palestinian street, givng Hamas a likely poll boost.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — As time passes, the negative effect of President Mahmoud Abbas' June 18 speech to the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah is getting worse. As soon as Abbas finished his speech, social media was abuzz with shock and anger.
Social media activists promoted the hashtag “Abbas doesn’t represent me” and the video of the speech, writing angry comments. In particular, they criticized Abbas for saying, “Security coordination between us and Israel is in our interest to protect our people. … We will not restart an intifada that would destroy us. … The Israeli government is escalating a lot. The reason is that three young men were abducted from one of the settlements,” in reference to the disappearance of three teenagers June 12.
After the speech ended, anger poured onto the street. On June 23, Palestinian youths threw stones at the headquarters of the Palestinian police and smashed the windows of two police cars to protest the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority (PA) security apparatus and the Israeli occupation.
In a speech during the opening ceremony of a conference in Ramallah on June 19, Abbas said, “I wish I could find [the kidnapped teenagers] alive because we are humane, and we don’t accept the kidnapping or killing of any innocent person.”
