Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for Gaza’s Hamas rulers to be “brought down”, his strongest call yet for their removal.
Previously he has only demanded Hamas apologise for taking over Gaza and return it to Fatah security control.
His comments came after Hamas security forces killed eight Fatah members at a rally [honoring Yasser Arafat] in Gaza on Monday. [my emphasis]
One imagines that Abbas sent an angry message to Haniyeh in Gaza:
“OK, that’s it, Ismail. You killed dozens of our people, some shot in the knees and thrown from rooftops, wrecked our nice offices and watched our sex tapes. I asked you to say that you were sorry! Oh no, you wouldn’t apologize. And now you go and spoil the dedication of the memorial to the great, kind, honest, father of the Palestinian nation! Well, you’ve gone too far, Ismail. Now we, er, somebody or other, will bring you down!
Hamasniks Ismail Haniya (l.) and Khaled Meshaal with Abbas (r.) in better days.