The political opponents of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in Hamas and Islamic Jihad came to his defense following the storm he caused in Germany, when he accused Israel of committing “50 holocausts” against the Palestinians. Both organizations said that Abbas’ statements represent the “historical narrative” of the Palestinians.
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The PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), which oppose Abbas’ policies, also defended him at the weekend.
The rare show of solidarity with Abbas by the four organizations came after the Palestinian Authority and many Palestinians strongly condemned the “campaign of incitement” against him in response to his statement in Germany last week. The organizations even condemned the German police for opening a preliminary investigation against Abbas.
The PA leadership, meanwhile, wants to take advantage of the widespread criticism to rally support for Abbas. A recent public opinion poll found that more than 70% of Palestinians want Abu Mazen to step down. Abbas also faced criticism from many Palestinians for failing to hold general elections and adopt major PA reforms.
Yesterday, the Palestinian Authority organized a welcome for a hero to Abbas upon his return to Ramallah. A number of Palestinians praised him for “telling the truth about Israel’s crimes” during his visit to Germany.
A senior member of the Islamic Jihad, Khaled al-Batsh, condemned the German police for opening a preliminary investigation into Abbas’s words, which he described as “part of the Palestinian national narrative.”
“The position of the German police represents one of the aspects of double standards, hypocrisy and bias in favor of the occupation,” Al-Batsh said. The move, he added, is also “a denial of the suffering of the Palestinian people, who are paying the price of the results of World War II in the absence of international justice.”
Hussam Badran, a senior member of Hamas, referred to the German police investigation against Abbas, saying that the international community has once again proven its bias in favor of Israel and the “denial of the historic rights of the Palestinian people and their suffering.” He added: “No matter how these forces try to distort the truth and ignore what happened to the Palestinian people by applying double standards, they will not be able to erase the Palestinian narrative.”