Mock court accuses Abbas of treason

JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A mock children's court in Gaza ousted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from office and sentenced him to life for inaction on a U.N. Gaza war crimes report.

The mock trial was conducted by Gaza schoolchildren of the Palestinian Child Parliament, said to be linked to Hamas, the Maan news agency said Tuesday.

The Palestinian Authority leader has been sharply criticized for failing to endorse the United Nations report that accused Israel of committing war crimes in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza earlier this year when it was first published.

Abbas was charged with high treason to the Palestinian people's interests by the "prosecutor," who told the court the Palestinian leader had refused to support the U.N. report even though 33 countries had, the news agency said. Another child who portrayed Abbas at the trial had little to say in his defense, the agency said.

Among those who testified before the mock court were children who portrayed Pakistan's delegate at the United Nations in Geneva, and the Palestinian envoy to the U.N., the report said. A young girl who represented the victims of the Gaza offensive accused the Palestinian leader of stabbing the victims in the back, the agency said.