Hamas calls to renew talks with Abbas amid increased IDF attacks - Haaretz

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Fri., December 07, 2007 Kislev 27, 5768

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Hamas calls to renew talks with Abbas amid increased IDF attacks

By Reuters

Hamas leader and deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh yesterday renewed his call for dialogue with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rival Fatah faction, a week after Abbas relaunched peace talks with Israel.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas formally relaunched a U.S.-sponsored peace process last week and Israel has since stepped up raids on Hamas-controlled Gaza to try to curb rocket fire by militants.

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Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah in June, prompting Abbas to dismiss the Hamas-led unity government, which previously controlled both Gaza and the West Bank, and reopen talks with Israel. Hamas has since called for dialogue with Fatah but Abbas, who controls the West Bank, has ruled out talks unless the group first renounces control of the Gaza Strip, a condition Hamas rejects.

"We believe it is necessary to immediately begin a non-conditional dialogue that will work to heal the Palestinian wounds," Haniyeh, prime minister of the government dissolved by Abbas said yesterday.

Israel says dialogue between Fatah and Hamas, sidelined by the West, could torpedo the peace process. A senior Abbas aide said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia, which brokered a previous agreement between the Palestinian factions, had relayed a message to Abbas from Hamas offering talks this week, but that the president repeated his condition on Gaza.

Israel has designated Gaza an enemy entity and last week ordered tougher action against Hamas militants.

The group said two dozen of its members have been killed in IDF raids since last week's conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

"It is very clear that Annapolis has provided a cover for this Israeli aggression," Haniyeh said.

He called on Arab countries that attended the Annapolis conference to protest against the attacks.

Separately, the decision-making body of the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organization yesterday formally approved Abbas and Olmert's agreement at Annapolis to try to reach an deal on Palestinian statehood by the end of 2008.

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