The Hamas-led Palestinian government today voiced opposition to a
referendum proposed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
"The referendum will complicate the situation. I do not think we need more
crises since we have many political, security and financial crises," cabinet
spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the Voice of Palestine.
Hamad said that the gap between Hamas and the Palestinian presidency has been
widening.
Abbas' ultimatum for referendum over a document drawn up by Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails will expire on Monday.
"I think it is possible to overstep referendum since the chance of success of
national dialogues is high," said Hamad, adding that such a referendum will
bring all sides into a big problem. Meanwhile, the Fatah movement, led by Abbas,
on Sunday slammed Hamas for refusing referendum.
"Hamas will make the situation more complicated, if it keeps challenging and
refusing national consensus and international legitimacy," Fatah spokesman Ahmed
Abdel Rahman told the Voice of Palestine.
The document suggests that an independent Palestinian state be established on
the 1967 borders through negotiations and resistance.
Hamas strongly opposes some articles of the document which call for adopting
UN resolutions as solutions to some outstanding issues, including those about
Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem.