“departure from national consensus”… Factions condemn Abbas-Gantz meeting

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- National and Islamic factions condemned the meeting between the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Minister of war, Benny Gantz, in the house of the latter in the 1948-occupied territories last night.

Abbas had held talks with Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz during a rare visit to Gantz’s house.

Tareq Izziddin, a spokesperson for the Islamic Jihad (IJ) movement, told QNN that the meeting “supports the occupation’s policies against our people amidst attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers, which are executed upon orders by the Israeli minister of war, Benny Gantz.”

“Such meetings simply aim at supporting security cooperation and some PA officials”, he added.

In the same context, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in a press release that the meeting comes “amidst vicious attacks by the occupation and its settlers” and described the meeting as “betrayal of the martyrs’ blood, the suffering of detainees, and all victims of the [zinist] entity, led by the zionist criminal Benny Gantz.”

The PFLP added that Abbas continues to “depart from all national decisions, made by the national and central councils, which stress on the importance of abolishing all agreements, signed with the occupation, and ending all forms of political, security, and economic relationships” with the occupation state.

Meanwhile, Hamas described the meeting as “condemned and rejected by all national components, and a departure from the national spirit and consensus.”

Hamas added that the meeting came while Israeli settlers were carrying out attacks against people in the West Bank, which “worsened the crime of the PA’s leadership and was a stab in the back of the uprising.”

Hamas added that “such behavior deepens the Palestinian political division and complicates the Palestinian condition”.

The Resistance Committees in Palestine said the behavior of the PA and its assistance “to cooperate with the zionist enemy legitimize and promote normalization between Arab counties and the zionist enemy.”

“Our people will continue its revolution and its armed resistance until the return and liberation.”

In the same vein, The Palestinian National Initiative rejected the meeting and warned of the Israeli policy, which limits its interaction with the PA to security and economic issues instead of ending its occupation and apartheid system.