Abbas Threatens to Take 'Strategic Decisions' in Wake of Israeli Aggression

Muslim worshippers wrapped in the Palestinian flags pray during the holy month of Ramadan in front of the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP)
Muslim worshippers wrapped in the Palestinian flags pray during the holy month of Ramadan in front of the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP)
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Abbas Threatens to Take 'Strategic Decisions' in Wake of Israeli Aggression

Muslim worshippers wrapped in the Palestinian flags pray during the holy month of Ramadan in front of the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP)
Muslim worshippers wrapped in the Palestinian flags pray during the holy month of Ramadan in front of the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP)

The Palestinian leadership threatened to take strategic decisions during a meeting on Sunday aimed at addressing Israeli aggression in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called for the meeting.

The presidency warned it would implement the decisions taken by the Central Council in February, which included suspending recognition of Israel.

Hussein al-Sheikh, member of the Fatah Central Committee and Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee, denounced Israel’s escalation against Palestinians, stressing that the ongoing “massacre cannot be tolerated.”

He slammed the Israeli government’s instructions to its army to kill Palestinians without restraint, holding it fully responsible for the repercussions of its aggression, which is taking place under international cover.

He appealed to all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to sit together and unite to face the aggressive Israeli measures.

Sheikh did not clarify what strategic decisions the leadership would take at Sunday’s meeting.

However, the official spokesman for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, hinted at the implementation of the Central Council decisions.

“United Nations resolutions alone are no longer sufficient, and the occupation is pushing things to a dead end,” he stressed.

In February, the Palestinian Central Council decided to suspend recognition of Israel until Tel Aviv recognizes a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 border. It also decided to end all commitments to agreements reached with Israel and halt all forms of security coordination with it.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, however, that the decisions will not be adopted on Sunday.

Rather, Abbas may warn that the ongoing aggression will eventually lead to their gradual implementation.



Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.