Abbas defends decision to defer vote on UN Gaza report

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday defended his controversial decision to support deferring a vote on a damning Gaza war report at the UN Human Rights Council.

Exiled Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal, meanwhile, slammed the Palestinian leadership's decision as a "scandal" and said "the timing is not right" for a reconciliation deal between his movement and Abbas's Fatah party.

In a televised address, the embattled president accused the Islamist movement Hamas of leading the storm of criticism at the decision only as a means to postpone a long-delayed Palestinian reconciliation.

Abbas said the Palestinian delegation at the Geneva-based council backed the October 2 postponement of a vote on the so-called Goldstone report which was highly critical of Israel in order to gather maximum support for the measure.

"Since we felt that we would not be able to gather enough support, we asked for the postponement of the draft resolution until the upcoming session of the Human Rights Council" in March, he said.

Abbas said following the outrage over the deferral, which sparked criticism from Palestinian civil society groups and across the Arab world, he was directing Palestinian representatives at the UN to work toward bringing the Goldstone report for an early vote at the Human Rights Council.

He said the "storm of criticism" at the decision by Hamas was aimed at postponing a long-delayed Palestinian reconciliation deal that Egypt had announced for October 25-26 in Cairo.

"We are totally aware of this campaign by Hamas aimed at serving their interests, which is to postpone the signature of the reconciliation agreement," Abbas said. "They want to consolidate their rule and their regime in Gaza."

But Meshaal, in a speech in Damascus shortly after Abbas's address, said the atmosphere was not right for a deal between the rival factions.

"The Goldstone report was the final straw ... We can not accept any more mistakes," Meshaal said in a speech in Damascus, shortly after Abbas's address. "This is not a leadership which deserves our trust."

The decision to ask for a delay was a "scandal," he said. "The timing is now not right" for a reconciliation deal.

"The attitude of the Palestinian leadership on the Goldstone report has blocked the continuation of the inter-Palestinian dialogue," he said, although efforts were continuing with Egypt on a new timetable.

"Fatah deserves a better leadership" than one which had lied to the Palestinian people over the delay, said Meshaal.

Hamas has led the torrent of criticism of Abbas, charging he "betrayed" the some 1,400 Palestinian victims of the December-January war and has asked Egypt to postpone the signing of the reconciliation deal because of the decision.

In Gaza City, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said Abbas's speech "does not improve the national dialogue atmosphere."

Hamas routed long-dominant Fatah in the last Palestinian legislative election on January 25, 2006, ushering in months of tensions between the two main Palestinian factions that often boiled over into deadly street clashes and culminated with Hamas's bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Egypt has been trying for months to persuade the two camps to sign a reconciliation deal and has already twice postponed signing ceremonies.