Middle East News

US backs Abbas on dissolving Palestinian government (Extra)

Jun 14, 2007, 21:03 GMT

Washington - The United States backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision Thursday to dissolve the Palestinian government after Hamas extremists seized control of most of the Gaza Strip.

'We fully support him and his decision to try and end this crisis of the Palestinian people and to give them an opportunity to return to peace and a better future,' US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

The United States has continuously voiced support for Abbas and his Fatah party's security forces as they came under attack by Hamas' militant wing in the Gaza Strip. Rice spoke with Abbas hours before he announced he was pulling Fatah from the unity government formed with Hamas in March.

'President Abbas has exercised his lawful authority as the president of the Palestinian Authority, as the leader of the Palestinian people,' Rice said.