Abbas: ‘No one tells us what to do’

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the newly formed Arab Quartet against interfering in Palestinian affairs, saying “no one tells us what to do,” the Safa news agency reported yesterday.

In a televised speech broadcasted on PA’s official TV channel, Abbas said: “Let’s speak as Palestinians and it is enough of the [hidden] links here or there.”

According to Safa, Abbas referred to the newly formed Arab Quartet, which aims to unify the Fatah movement and return its dismissed former leader Mohamed Dahlan to his position.

“Anyone who has links to outside powers,” Abbas said, “he has to cut them himself; otherwise, we will cut them.”

“We are the decision makers and the executives, too,” he said. “No one has any power over us.”