Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with Finnish YLE
Radio that he wants to iron out differences between himself and the government
formed by the hard-line Hamas movement.
Abbas said that he is hoping to persuade Hamas to denounce terrorism. Hamas
has refused to recognize agreements made between the previous Palestinian
government and Israel.
He also predicted that a serious crisis could emerge if cooperation between
him and the new Palestinian government does not improve. However, he also noted
that in some questions, the two sides have reached some level of agreement.
Abbas also said that the European Union should not punish all Palestinians
with the freezing of aid, just because the EU does not like Hamas.
The cutoff of foreign aid has prevented the Palestinian Authority from
meeting its payroll requirements. The non-payment of wages of 140,000 people
could lead to serious problems.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Finland on
Wednesday next week.
