Abbas Zaki

Abbas Zaki (Arabic: عباس زكي) is the former representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon and a member of Fatah's central committee.[1]

Views

As a result of the conflict in the Nahr al-Bared Camp in Lebanon, Zaki proposed setting up a Palestinian security force of 4,000 to 5,000 members in the refugee camps in Lebanon to prevent the formation of extremist groups.[2]

Zaki described Fatah al-Islam as "an ignorant group, hiding themselves behind Islam, and practicing the most ugly crimes against women and children in the camp of Nahr al Barid."[1] In May 2009, Zaki suggested that if unity talks between Hamas and Fatah in Cairo fail, Abbas should form a new government that will lay out a new approach to Hamas.[3]

Ahead of Fatah's sixth conference on August 4, 2009, Zaki stated "I'm sorry to compare, but the Israelis elected Lieberman and appointed him as Foreign Minister, and a similar mistake was made by the Palestinian people in electing Hamas, which is setting up all the obstacles preventing the improvement of the national unity."[4]

Zaki has made a number of controversial statements.[5] In 2023, he expressed support for Hamas's October 7 attack, a statement that was later disavowed by another Fatah official, who clarified that it did not represent the group's official position.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Abbas Zaki: "Fatah Al Islam an ignorant group, hiding behind Islam" Ma'an News Agency. 2007-05-26. Archived December 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "PLO Lebanon official calls for Palestinian force in refugee camps". Haaretz. Associated Press. 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  3. ^ Zaki: Abbas will form new government if Cairo talks fail Ma'an News Agency. 2009-05-05. Archived December 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Zaki compares 'unfortunate' election of Hamas to that of Lieberman". Ma'an News Agency. 2009-08-04. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  5. ^ Miller, Elhanan (2014-03-13). "Fatah official: 'God will gather Israelis so we can kill them'". Times of Israel.
  6. ^ Pacchiani, Gianluca (2023-10-15). "Fatah disavows pro-Hamas statement made by prominent member". Times of Israel.