Abbas condemns ‘cowardly,’ ‘dangerous’ Haniyeh assassination

Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee Hussein al-Sheikh also denounced Haniyeh’s killing.

By JNS

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday condemned the killing of Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, describing it as a “cowardly act and dangerous development.”

Abbas “called on the Palestinian people to unite, be patient and steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation,” according to the P.A.’s official Wafa news outlet.

Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee Hussein al-Sheikh also denounced Haniyeh’s killing.

“We strongly denounce and condemn the assassination of the head of the Political Bureau, the national leader, Ismail Haniyeh,” he tweeted, according to Wafa.

“This pushes us to remain more steadfast in the face of the occupation, and the necessity of achieving the unity of the Palestinian forces and factions,” he added.

Palestinian and Islamic factions have called for a general strike and mass demonstrations in Judea and Samaria, according to the report.

Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed in the Hamas leader’s Tehran guest house early Wednesday morning. Haniyeh was in the Islamic Republic for the inauguration of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Israeli government has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, which came a few hours after a fighter jet killed senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukar in the heart of Beirut. Jerusalem took responsibility for the Beirut strike.