Abbas vows to curb any Palestinian Intifada

Acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas says he prevented a third intifada from breaking out during Israel's deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip in January.

In an interview with New York's Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday, Abbas emphasized that he would not allow another uprising to take place as long as he stays in office.

"I will not allow a new intifada. As long as I'm in office, I will not allow anybody to start a new intifada. Never never."

The Fatah leader who earlier said he would not run in the next Palestinian election warned that he could not make any guarantees another intifada would not erupt once he left office.

"If I leave, it's no longer my responsibility and I can't make any guarantees. It could happen," he said.

"It's not my business to follow up. I promise and I can do. And I already promised and I did during the invasion of Gaza. At that time everybody asked me to go to a third intifada, but I prevented anybody from doing it."

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Central Council last week extended the mandate for the Western-backed Abbas, whose term as the Palestinian Authority chief expired in early 2009.12.23

The move drew sharp criticism from the Islamic Hamas movement, which called the decision illegal and a "political bribe to cover up for the fact that Abbas' term in office expired a long time ago."

The PLO's Central Council also endorsed Abbas' earlier decision to call off the January 24 presidential and legislative elections due to a Hamas-called boycott of the vote in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas' popularity has dipped meaningfully following senior Israeli military officials revealing the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority had called Israel to eliminate the rival Hamas and supported Tel Aviv forces with intelligence.

The three-week long Gaza massacre resulted in the deaths of at least 1,400 Palestinians, including many civilians, in the Gaza Strip and left thousands more injured.

In the interview, Abbas denied reports that US intelligence is working closely with PA security forces who torture detainees, but acknowledged that Americans are training Fatah forces.

The UK daily Guardian last Thursday quoted Western officials as saying that Palestinian security agents have been torturing supporters of the Hamas movement in their custody in the West Bank in cooperation with the US Central Intelligence Agency.