Abbas likely to seek deal over militants' weapons

[barb162]

Abbas likely to seek deal over militants' weapons
06 Sep 2005 13:26:30 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The war of words in Gaza between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority grows more bitter by the day as Israel prepares to complete its Gaza pullout.

But President Mahmoud Abbas is likely to seek a deal, rather than confrontation, with militant groups threatening to defy a ban on carrying weapons publicly, political analysts say.

"At the most Abbas will try to reach a new formula under which Hamas will agree not to show weapons publicly in the streets," Israeli analyst Ehud Yaari, who specialises in Palestinian issues, said from Jerusalem.

"They will call it a stabilisation of the situation and I believe the Americans and the Europeans will buy it," he said.

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