Abbas, Hamas PM meet in Gaza to resolve differences
25/6/2006 10:46
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of
Hamas held a closed-door meeting in Gaza City on midnight Friday in a bid to
resolve differences over a statehood proposal, well-informed Palestinian sources
said yesterday.
Sources close to Abbas said that the president and Haneya had
discussed recent progress made by the Palestinian factions in talks over the
proposal which seeks an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The
sources described the talks between the two leaders as "in- depth and
positive."
Abbas and Haneya will hold talks again in Gaza on Saturday night
in a meeting which is also to be attended by representatives of all the
Palestinian factions, the sources added.
Abbas has set July 26 for a
referendum on the proposal, which is seen as implicitly recognizing Israel, if
the factions fail to achieve consensus.
Abbas' Fatah movement, once dominant
in the Palestinian political arena, and Hamas have been engaged in talks during
the past few days in a bid to overcome differences and reach a deal on the
statehood proposal.
But sticking points have remained including negotiations
with Israel, the makeup of a new national unity government and the establishment
of an independent Palestinian state on land Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast
war.
Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, took control of the
Palestinian government in late March after defeating Fatah in the January
parliamentary elections. The group's charter calls for Israel's
destruct.
Earlier in the day, a spokesman of the Hamas-led government told
reporters in Gaza that Hamas believed that the inter- Palestinian talks must
come up with a final agreement, voicing optimism that a deal might be struck on
Saturday or Sunday.
Xinhua
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