Palestinian PM Denies President Abbas Mandate Ending Friday

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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP)--Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad insisted the mandate of President Mahmoud Abbas continues after Friday, contrary to the claims of the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers.

"There are no circumstances that would allow us to speak of a vacancy in the post of president and that is the end of the debate," Fayyad told journalists.

The Islamist Hamas movement has insisted the secular president's term of office ends Friday and has vowed no longer to respect his authority.

"This debate has always been superfluous and it must stop in the conditions the Palestinian population is currently experiencing in Gaza," Fayyad said in reference to Israel's deadly offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

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