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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Meshal welcomes Saudi bid to broker Hamas-Fatah talks By Avi Issacharoff Saudi Arabia and Egypt are pushing Hamas and Fatah to meet, in an effort to resolve the deep rift in the Palestinian movements, as Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal visits Riyadh this week. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said that Meshal, who arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, would meet with senior Saudi officials to update them on the status of contact between Fatah and Hamas, which of late has reached a dead end. Advertisement He added that his organization welcomed the Saudi efforts to solve the internal Palestinian crisis, saying that Hamas was ready for early negotiations without conditions in order to bring an end to the schism. A Fatah leader in the West Bank, Hatham Abed al-Kadr, said Sunday that Egypt too has been in contact recently with officials from both movements in an attempt to bring the two sides for a meeting in Cairo after the culmination of the Id al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday, in about two weeks. According to Al-Kadr, the Egyptian mediation was aimed at opening negotiations between Hamas and Fatah. Fayad Sayam, a Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, said Sunday night that there have been a few meetings of late between representatives of the two groups, though none has yielded results. Last week, Egypt and Saudi Arabia arranged with Israel for some 2,000 Palestinians to be permitted to travel from Gaza to Saudi Arabia, via the Kerem Shalom and Allenby Bridge border crossings, so that they could observe the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Palestinian Authority, which had invested huge efforts in organizing the pilgrims' trip to Saudi Arabia in a bid to improve the status of President Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza Strip, was enraged when it learned that Egypt and Saudi Arabia had coordinated the exits with Hamas via the Rafah crossing. Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's adviser Ahmed Yusef told Haaretz that he sent a rare letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declaring that Hamas was interested in opening dialogue with the U.S. and the European Union. Yusef said political parties would be required to reveal their sources of funding, and provide details on their activists. And yesterday, the Palestinian government in the West Bank discussed a bill that would require political parties to obtain licenses, two cabinet ministers said. Such a law could target Hamas, which seized control of Gaza by force in June. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denounced the idea. "We don't need a license from anyone," he said. Prisoner Affairs Minister Ashraf Ajrami said the bill was intended "to organize the existing factions and new ones... to they would be able to obtain a license." Planning Minister Samir Abdullah said the bill is still being studied, and had not yet received cabinet approval. "This law is going to affect all factions and movements," he said. "Palestinian factions are not registered, and they work randomly. This law is going to organize things." He said political parties would be required to reveal their sources of funding, and provide details on their activists. Neither of the ministers referred to Hamas by name. However, the Islamic militant group is receiving millions of dollars in support from abroad, including money from Iran and donations to Hamas-linked charities. Bookmark to del.icio.us Tehran threat Olmert delivered a rebuttal to the assessment that Iran halted its nukes program. More than war The UN has adopted an Israeli-proposed resolution in the field of economic development.

Today Online B. Burston: Hamas - If we can kill them, we can talk to them Responses: 205 8 Palestinians killed, 4 IDF soldiers hurt in Gaza raids Responses: 263 Editorial: Yes to Israeli concessions in Jerusalem Responses: 178 Rosner's Guest: Israel's enemies don't just want Jerusalem Responses: 45 Moshe Arens: The new post-Zionists - Olmert and Livni Responses: 63 U.K. pledges $500M in aid to PA if peace process successful Responses: 73 More Headlines 00:14 Olmert vows to remove Qassam rocket threat 02:08 Hamas urges PA to boycott Israel talks in wake of IDF Gaza raid 02:59 Civil Administration chief: 100s of units approved in disputed areas 21:55 Negotiations between secondary school teachers, treasury break down 01:09 Police: N.Y. subway riders beaten after 'Happy Hanukkah' greeting 01:34 UN General Assembly adopts first Israeli-proposed resolution 22:32 Blair urges int'l donors to back PA's $5.6 billion economic plan 20:31 Cmte. Of University Heads: Academic year in danger of cancellation 19:46 Popular Tunisian singer Saber el-Rubai makes rare visit to W. Bank Previous Editions Select Day 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec 04 dec 03 dec 02 dec 30 nov 29 nov 28 nov

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