President Abbas has been accused of being 'weak' Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, revealed that security services returned 96 Israeli soldiers who had mistakenly entered the West Bank, to the Israeli occupation in 2012. During his speech to the World Economic Forum in Jordan Abbas said “kidnapping soldiers is not in our nature, we do not use these methods, we want to live with neighbors win mutual respect. Any Israeli that comes onto Palestinian ground will be welcomed and returned safely to his home.”
Sami Abu Zuhri the official spokesman for Hamas, said that President Abbas's remarks only reflect his personal opinion, adding that all parties including Fatah led by Abbas, have adopted the policy of capturing soldiers as it leads to the liberation of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
He added that “the refusal of Abbas to capture soldiers is a stab in the back of the Palestinian prisoners,” he also accused the president of “denying the suffering of the prisoners.”
He further accused Abbas of loosing a great opportunity to liberate Palestinian prisoners, condemning the current trajectory of the president predicting it will result in Palestine being handed to the occupation forces.
Hamas asked Abbas to focus on national projects which serve the interest of the Palestinian people, instead of making these statements.
In October 2011, 1027 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails in exchange with the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by three armed factions in Gaza at 2006.