Abbas Sworn In Amid Persistent Strife

His right hand resting on the Koran, a solemn Mahmoud Abbas took the oath of office Saturday as Palestinian Authority president and declared in his inaugural address that “our hand is extended toward an Israeli partner for making peace.”

But the 69-year-old Abbas, elected Jan. 9 to succeed the late Yasser Arafat, enjoyed only the briefest of political honeymoons. Even before assuming office, he found himself ensnared in a thicket of internal and external problems.

On the eve of Abbas’ swearing-in, Israel severed nascent ties with his government in response to an attack by Palestinian militants that killed six Israelis at a Gaza Strip border crossing, and said contacts would not be restored until Abbas cracked down on extremist elements.

And even as the new leader was being warmly applauded by assembled lawmakers and invited dignitaries at his inauguration, two senior members of the Palestinian Central Election Commission, together with dozens of staff members, resigned in protest of what they said were irregularities in last week’s vote, which Abbas won handily.

Violence, too, proved to be a familiar backdrop to the day’s events.

Before the ceremony was over, seven Palestinians had died in two confrontations with Israeli troops in Gaza. Several of them were believed to be gunmen, but one was a 17-year-old boy described by witnesses as an onlooker.

The low-key swearing-in, held in an assembly hall at Arafat’s former headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, was a pronounced departure from the volatile public events presided over by the late leader.

Arafat rallies, a fixture of Palestinian public life for decades, were draped in giant banners and full of heroic rhetoric, featuring rhythmic chanting by feverish crowds.

In contrast, Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, delivered his inaugural address in quiet, measured tones before an attentive audience of lawmakers and dignitaries. The dais was simply decorated with a spray of flowers, accompanied by only a standard-size Palestinian flag. Abbas wore his usual sober business suit.

The new leader called his election a vote for “democratic choice

As he has in the past, Abbas urged an end to the intifada, now in its fifth year, calling for a mutual cease-fire and pledging to abide by the U.S.-backed peace plan known as the road map.

“I say to the Israeli leadership and to the Israeli people, we are two peoples destined to live side by side, and to share this land between us,” Abbas said. “The only alternative to peace is the continuation of the occupation and the conflict.”

The 25-minute address, however, was perhaps noteworthy for matters Abbas did not touch upon: Israel’s recent ban on talks with Palestinian officials and whether a confrontation between his government and Palestinian militant groups was in the offing.

In its latest display of muscle-flexing, Hamas, the largest and most powerful of the militant groups, fired a volley of crude Kassam rockets Saturday toward the Israeli town of Sderot, just outside the Gaza boundary. An Israeli girl was reported to have been critically wounded in the attack.

Abbas has expressed hopes of reaching an accord with the militants under which they would halt their strikes against Israelis.

Hamas seeks to block any peace deal with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made it clear that if attacks continue, no grace period can be expected for truce talks between Abbas’ government and the extremist groups.

“Everyone understands that the Palestinian Authority can’t do everything on day one,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. “But it’s important for them to start the process of reining in the terrorist groups.

“We’re not asking for the impossible -- we’re conscious of what capabilities they have, and in the framework of those capabilities, we know they can take steps.”

Palestinian analysts predict that without some swift concessions by Israel to tangibly improve Palestinians’ day-to-day lives, Abbas will lack the clout to move against the militant groups, which enjoy considerable public support.

“Without Israel giving Abu Mazen serious measures on the ground, it will be impossible for him to try to contain the Palestinian resistance,” political analyst Hani Masri said.

Perhaps seeking to build his credibility as a leader who will safeguard Palestinian interests rather than bow to Israel, Abbas did level sharp criticism against Sharon’s government during his address.

“Partnership is not through words, but rather deeds,” Abbas said, echoing a phrase Israeli officials often use when talking about him.

“It is through ending assassinations, the sieges on our towns, arrests, land confiscations, settlement activity and the separation wall.”

Saturday’s protest resignations of two Palestinian senior election officials, and virtually the commission’s entire support staff of nearly four dozen people, were a blow to Abbas. He refers often to the democratic mandate he received in the recent balloting, in which he garnered 62.3% of the vote, according to the official tally.

Although international observers declared the vote largely free and fair, the officials who stepped down, Baha Bakri and Ammar Dwaik, said the vote’s integrity was compromised by last-minute procedural changes.

On election day, the polls stayed open two hours longer than scheduled and voters were allowed to cast ballots at any polling place, rather than the one where they were registered, by showing a Palestinian identity card.

Bakri and Dwaik said they were intimidated into allowing the procedural changes by Abbas’ campaign, which was spearheaded by the ruling Fatah faction.

“I was personally threatened and pressured,” Dwaik told reporters.

“I am therefore announcing my resignation publicly, so everyone knows that in the upcoming legislative election, this could happen again.”

Abbas has said he believes the vote was a fair one. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for mid-July.

Hamas and other militant groups say that because of the irregularities, they do not believe Abbas won a mandate to make decisions involving the Palestinian national interest. They say the terms of any accord with Israel must be brought to a popular vote.

A Hamas stronghold in Gaza City, a neighborhood called Zeitoun, was the target of a raid Saturday by Israeli troops backed by tanks and combat aircraft.

The army said soldiers came under attack from antitank rockets and returned fire.

Palestinians reported five people dead in the Zeitoun fighting and two Palestinians killed in the southern town of Rafah.

Hamas, together with two other militant groups, claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting and bombing attack Thursday night on the main commercial crossing into Gaza, which prompted Sharon to sever contacts with the Abbas government.

Israeli officials said Palestinian security officials bore responsibility for negligence, if not complicity, in the assault on the Karni terminal.

In his speech, Abbas spoke out against what he called a “vicious circle” of violence, replete with attacks and reprisals, strikes and counterstrikes.

“We condemn these actions, whether by the Israeli occupation forces, or the reactions of some Palestinian factions,” he said. “This does not help bring about the calm needed to enable a credible, serious peace process.”

Although the new leader’s speech did not contain the unequivocal condemnation of Palestinian militant groups that Israeli officials wanted to hear, Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat, who has served as the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, said Abbas’ comments should be interpreted as offering an olive branch to Israel.

“I hope they will have listened carefully and that they will reconsider their position and come back to the bargaining table,” Erekat told reporters in Ramallah, where a drizzle fell on the courtyard of Arafat’s compound, known as the Muqata.

After the swearing-in, Abbas paid a brief visit to Arafat’s grave, a glassed-in, flower-filled mausoleum in the parking lot of the bomb-damaged headquarters.

Then, with a group of aides in tow, he went off to settle into his new office.

Times special correspondent Tamer Misshal in Gaza City contributed to this report.