RAMALLAH, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party said Thursday it will not hold talks with rival Hamas unless it accepts an Egyptian-drafted pact for national reconciliation.
The statement dimmed Hamas' hope of a dialogue with its rival despite that deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said the year 2010 will be a year of reconciliation.
"Once Hamas signs the Egyptian paper of reconciliation, we would be ready to sit with them on any table, on any level and in any place," Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior Fatah official, told Xinhua, adding "no dialogue with Hamas before they sign on the reconciliation pact."
Al-Ahmad's remarks were made following statements by Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal that the circumstances are suitable for reconciliation and that some Arab countries should arrange meetings between Hamas and Fatah.
Haneya also made similar remarks on Thursday. Talking about the internal Palestinian crisis in an interview published by several Hamas news websites, Haneya expected that his movement will reconcile with Fatah party this year.
Hamas seized the Gaza Strip forcibly in June 2007 after fierce street fights with its secular rival Fatah party, since when Egypthas been brokering a national reconciliation between the two parties for more than two years, but nothing concrete had been achieved on the ground.
As soon as Egypt presented its proposal in October last year, Fatah accepted it and stressed that Egypt, which hosted a series of inter-Palestinian dialogue last year, would be the only mediator to broker a power-sharing pact between Hamas and Fatah.
Hamas rejected the Egyptian proposal presented to the Palestinian factions as it raised reservations concerning elections and the reform of Palestine Liberation Organization, two issues that appeared on the paper in the long-term measures to boost the reconciliation.
However, Khalil al-Hayyah, member of Hamas political bureau, said Thursday that his movement "is ready to sign the Egyptian reconciliation pact, but the parties concerned must take into account what we have agreed upon in the previous rounds of talks, including restructuring the PLO and the security apparatuses."
Al-Hayyah stressed that "the rift between Gaza and the West Bank must end soon," affirming that "there is no other alternative but only unity."
Meanwhile, Hamas leaders in Gaza will soon hold intensive talks with leaders of other political and military factions in the Gaza Strip to study the current political situation and the internal reconciliation.
Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha told reporters in Gaza Thursday that there is a series of frequent meetings between Hamas and the factions in Gaza, and these meetings are meant to give the groups a background about what is going on in the Palestinian political arena.
"These meetings are not new," said Taha, whose party, according to media reports, has been convening meetings with the Palestinian political and armed groups in Gaza in an attempt to reach an agreement on a state of calm in Gaza.
However, member of the PFLP's political bureau Kayed al-Ghgoul denied holding secret meetings with Hamas to discuss the issue of reaching calm in Gaza, affirming that the meeting are being held publicly and are meant to tackle the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.
For his part, senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said his movement has not held any meeting with Hamas for reaching truce in Gaza.
"Our meetings with Hamas are on the go because they are about the Palestinian people, their future and the Israeli assaults targeting them," said al-Batsh.
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