Abbas takes office amid violence 

cctv.com 01-16-2005 10:23

In the Middle East, Mahmoud Abbas extended his hand in peace to Israel, as he was sworn in as the new Palestinian president on Saturday. But his first day in office has already been overshadowed by a series of crises, ranging from fresh violence in Gaza to allegations of election irregularities.

At his swearing-in ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for a mutual ceasefire with Israel, and talks toward a final peace deal. Optimism, though, has been quickly dampened by the renewed cycle of violence.

Israeli troops killed eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, some of them gunmen, in response to what the army called an increase in attacks by Gaza militants against Israeli towns, settlements and army posts.

And a young Israeli woman was critically wounded in an Israeli border town by a rocket attack, which Hamas said was launched in an "initial reaction" to an Israeli raid. A three-year-old boy was also injured in a settlement in northern Gaza.

Palestinian officials say Abbas is expected to go to Gaza this week and meet militant groups. Abbas wants an end to more than four years of Palestinian armed struggle so talks with Israel can resume.

But the Israeli government has already cut off its ties with Abbas after militants killed six Israelis in an attack on Thursday.

Abbas did not say in his speech how he planned to deal with the militants. Nor did he refer to Israel cutting contacts.

Abbas is also facing questions about the elections that brought him to power. 46 election officials resigned on Saturday amid allegations of irregularities. But the officials said the irregularities did not affect the final outcome of the vote.

Editor:Hu Hang  Source:CCTV.com