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Last update - 16:30 14/09/2008
Meshal: Hamas ready for Fatah reconciliation, but rejects external pressure
By News Agencies
Tags: Palestinians, Hamas, Egypt 

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said on Saturday that his group supported reconciliation with rival Fatah faction provided there was no external pressure and all issues were discussed.

Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa said last week he was angry with Palestinian groups for divisions and that sanctions against them were being discussed by Arab governments.

"Do not back Hamas into a corner," Meshal said at a late-night celebratory event in the Syrian capital Damascus to mark the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
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"Pressure and siege have been tried against Hamas and Hamas remained steadfast. We are for national reconciliation as long as it is conducted without external pressures and for a dialogue that puts all the issues on the table," he said.

Egypt, the main mediator between Palestinian groups, has been holding bilateral talks with minor factions in preparation for similar negotiations between major players Hamas and Fatah, both of which differ on peace talks with Israel.

Egypt has drawn up a plan to end the internal Palestinian crisis and
will propose it to rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, as soon as the sides agree to hear it sources said Saturday.

Egypt has come up with the plan after several rounds of bilateral talks with representatives from the different Palestinian factions. Later this month, Egyptian officials will meet with leaders from Hamas and Fatah separately to propose the plan and get their acceptance.

The Palestinian crisis escalated in June 2007 after Hamas routed security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, ousted his Fatah movement and took over control of the Gaza Strip, effectively separating it from the West Bank where Abbas has consolidated his rule.

According to Egyptian sources, the plan's main point proposes forming a transitional government that would not include members from either faction, in order to overcome the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip imposed after Hamas took control.

The transitional government would prepare for the holding of early elections and aim to rebuild the security services on a professional, rather than factional basis.

Fatah said Saturday its talks with Egyptian officials on launching an
inter-Palestinian dialogue would take place on September 22. Hamas said Egypt will invite its leaders to Cairo at the end of September.

Related articles:
  • Fatah: Hamas cracking down on public sector workers on strike in Gaza
  • Abbas meets Assad on prospects for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation
  • Press source: Egypt rules out Fatah-Hamas talks in near future
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