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Reuters via al Jazeera - Dec 29, 2004
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exe...275938E7D16.htm

Abbas: Tear Down This Wall

Taking his campaign to succeed Yasir Arafat to the foot of Israel's West
Bank separation wall, interim Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has said there
will be no peace until Israel tears it down.

Abbas, demonstrating a new knack for popular politicking after decades as a
deputy to Arafat, drew cheers from thousands in two cities hemmed in by
Israel's separation wall in his pursuit of election on 9 January as
Palestinian president.

"No [Middle East] peace can transpire with [Jewish] settlements and the
wall," Abbas said on Wednesday.

He was speaking with his back to the towering concrete divide that virtually
encircles the town of Qalqilya near the West Bank's boundary with Israel.

"We tell our neighbours: No matter how many settlements, walls or obstacles
you build, it will not bring you security or peace," said the veteran who
wants talks on Palestinian statehood on Israeli-occupied land after years of
fighting.

Israel says the wall, a mix of electronic fences and barriers that
encroaches on West Bank territory by differing amounts over the 200km built
so far, is meant to keep human bombers out of its cities.

Illegal barrier

Palestinians call the barrier - whose planned course would encompass Israeli
settlements in the West Bank - a disguised move to annex or fragment
territory Palestinians seek for a viable state.

The World Court has called the wall illegal for being built on captured
land.

Thousands of farmers have been separated from fields and the barrier has
hampered trade between villages and market towns such as Qalqilya, where
40,000 people are ringed by concrete except for one small outlet.

Abbas has raised hopes for peace by quickly becoming the overwhelming
favourite to replace Arafat in the election, riding a swing in Palestinian
sentiment in favour of negotiations since the iconic former leader died at
75 last month.

The hearty welcome given Abbas at his first campaign rally in Jericho on
Tuesday carried over on Wednesday to Qalqilya and Tulkarim.

Crowds repeatedly interrupted his speeches with cheers and people of all
ages ran excitedly after his convoy.

Functionary turned politician

Abbas, 69, smiled and raised his arms to those who hailed and sometimes
swarmed round him to shake his hand, revelling in a crowd like a natural
politician contrasting with his longtime image as a sober functionary in
Arafat's inner circle.

Heavy security was draped around Abbas because of feared threats from those
opposed to peace moves with Israel.

However, local members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group in
the Fatah faction that nominated Abbas for president, greeted Abbas and said
they would vote for him.

Abu Salim, commander of the Brigades in Tulkarim, said fighters would be
receptive to Abbas' call for an end to armed violence, which has abated in
most areas since Arafat died in November.

Abbas repeated his campaign theme that he would follow in Arafat's footsteps
by vowing to seek a state in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East
Jerusalem as its capital and the "right of return" of refugees to what is
now Israel.

Israel and US mediators boycotted Arafat but have sized up Abbas as someone
they could deal with because he has branded anti-Israel violence a mistake.

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