Gaza protesters rally against Abbas

Protesters on Wednesday held a rally in Gaza City against Mahmoud Abbas, accusing the president of neglecting his responsibilities to the Gaza Strip. They carried posters urging the president to resign if he could not fulfill his duties, and reminding Abbas that he presides over all Palestinian people and not just the West Bank. The rally was organized by the popular movement in Gaza to coincide with the 44th anniversary of the Battle of Karameh, when Israeli forces attacked a PLO camp in Jordan. Dozens gathered in front of the offices of Zakariyya al-Agha, a senior member of Abbas' Fatah party. A protest organizer told Ma'an: "We have organized this activity on the anniversary of the Battle of Karameh after the people of Gaza have been deprived of their dignity due to the consecutive crises. "Our message to the president is that he should secure our basic needs of electricity, water, fuel and work opportunities for his people." Another demonstrator, Firas al-Masri, urged Abbas "to do something for the sake of the Gaza Strip which is being ignored as a result of rivalry and failure to finalize a reconciliation agreement." Al-Masri added: "70,000 graduates are unemployed, and there are duties the president should undertake toward more than a million and a half Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." Another protester highlighted that Palestinians suffered under the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah. Since 2007, the Fatah-led PA has governed the West Bank while Hamas has ruled Gaza. "The president takes care of his people in the West Bank, and (Hamas premier Ismail) Haniyeh takes care of his people in Gaza. The rest of the Palestinian people have nobody to help them provide food for their children," she told Ma'an. "If President Abbas doesn’t want the Gaza Strip, let him leave it alone. Those who rule over subjects should care about the needs of their people," another woman added.