By Xinhua
Ramallah : A jailed Hamas lawmaker on Wednesday criticized the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) official ceremonies to receive U.S. President George W. Bush in his Middle East tour.
Mohammed Abu Tair, a Hamas legislator from Jerusalem, slashed Bush for refusing to place a crown of flowers before late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s grave in Ramallah.
“It would have been better for the officials of Fatah and the PA to be faithful to their leader and reject Bush’s visit and his poisoned money which will not bring anything good for us or for our region,” Abu Tair said in a statement he sent from his Israeli prison.
In Ramallah, the Palestinian security services will deploy more than 4,000 security members in the city and a number of streets leading to President Mahmoud Abbas’ offices will be completely closed during Bush’s visit.
Bush is expected in Ramallah on Thursday after he ends meetings with Israeli leaders. His three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories aims at pushing forward peace talks between the two sides.
However, Bush will shun during his visit Gaza Strip which has been under the control of Hamas since last June. Hamas has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist group.