Haniyeh cuts short his trip abroad to return to Gaza

The Palestinian PM dismissed fears of the violence in Gaza escalating to a civil war.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haniyeh talks 288.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Haniyeh talks 288.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday he would return to Gaza on Thursday, cutting short his trip abroad. Speaking at a press conference in the Sudanese capital, Haniyeh also said that President Omar al-Bashir had pledged US$10 million to the Palestinian government and people. When Haniyeh left Gaza on Nov. 28 he planned to travel for a month, but this drew criticism because of the need to conclude negotiations on a new government and the political violence raging in the Palestinian territories. In Gaza on Wednesday, Haniyeh's political adviser, Ahmed Youssef, confirmed the prime minister would return on Thursday on Friday, adding: "We need the prime minister to be here now to resolve the internal problems." Haniyeh dismissed fears of the violence in Gaza escalating to a civil war. "We want to assure you that words such as 'civil war' don't exist in our dictionary. They don't exist in our makeup, in our culture," Haniyeh told reporters in Khartoum. "We don't have time for internal feuds. We will protect the national unity of the Palestinian people and we will thwart any attempt to instigate an inter-Palestinian struggle."