RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wassel Abu Yousef, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) and member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that he rules out the possibility of a reconciliation to be reached within the coming months amid the current situation.
"The current regional interference basically concentrates on the security issue, the most complicated subjects in the dialogue between Fatah and Islamic Hamas movement," said Abu Yousef, who added that the dialogue between the two rival groups "is passing through severe rigidity."
He continued that the hope to reach soon a reconciliation agreement between the rival parties "would lead to a real start of ending the current internal Palestinian split, which is still going on and calls for more positive developments."
Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas have so far failed to reach an agreement concerning the security issue, which is the last outstanding difference between them, according to the announcement made after a meeting between the two sides in Damascus early November.
Leaders of the two groups agreed to meet again at the end of this month to try to overcome their differences in the security issue. During their first meeting held late September in Damascus, they said they had agreed on three outstanding issues related to elections and the reformation of the PLO.
The aim of their meetings in Damascus is to agree on a joint document to be attached to an Egyptian reconciliation draft rejected by Hamas October last year, who claimed that it has reservations on some phrases that need to be amended.
Abu Yousef, also the coordinator between the various Palestinian political powers and factions in the West Bank, said that a new appointment for the two groups' leaders to meet again is still unsure due to the foggy positions and differences concerning the issue of reforming the security apparatuses.
He clarified that the conflict between the two groups is based on the quotas concerning the security forces in the West Bank and Gaza, "in addition to regional and international interference which block any real progress."
Abu Yousef noted that there is a consensus among all the Palestinian factions to consider the Egyptian pact as a basic document for reconciliation, adding "but today the dispute is based on the understanding with Hamas movement concerning its reservations on some phrases of the pact."
The dialogue between Fatah and Hamas has been blocked since October last year, after Fatah accepted to sign on the Egyptian pact of reconciliation but Hamas refused. However, after one year, leaders of the two groups agreed to resume their bilateral dialogue to reach an agreement.
Abu Yousef revealed to Xinhua that there were many Palestinian and Arab initiatives to bridge the gaps between Fatah and Hamas, adding "these initiatives still try to overcome the differences because national dialogue and unity is the only choice remained for the two sides."
"We have tried bilateral dialogue over the past two years and whenever they reached an agreement, disputes came back again, therefore, I don't think calling again for a comprehensive meeting for all the factions is helpful for internal Palestinian accordance," said Abu Yousef.
He stressed that there is an essential need "to achieve the national reconciliation immediately amid the conspiracy that the Palestinian cause is witnessing, mainly the Israeli occupation and the expansion of settlement in the Palestinian territories."
"Achieving a reconciliation deal would pave the road for holding presidential and legislative elections, which is the only choice for solving the internal differences and helping the people democratically chose their leaders," said Abu Yousef.
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