Fateh Accepts The Egyptian Document, Hamas To Respond

Thursday October 15, 2009 09:34 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC

Fateh movement accepted the Egyptian document for internal Palestinians unity and signed it, while Hamas movement is yet to respond.

Fateh

Egypt, the mediator between the two rival parties, handed a new proposal that be separately signed by Fateh and Hamas, before the two movements can sign the deal together after the upcoming Adha Muslim feast.

Fateh movement said that it had signed the document, and that it’s Central Committee Member, Azzam Al Ahmad, will hand it to Egypt.

Fateh’s Central committee member, Mohammad Dahlan, said that the movement informed President Mahmoud Abbas that it accepts the document.

During a press conference on Tuesday in Ramallah, Dahlan said that the committee had asked Abbas to announce that should reconciliation efforts fail, legislative and presidential elections will be held on January 25, 2010.

He added that the committee took this decision after the latest speech of Khalid Mashal, head of the Political Bureau of Hamas in Syria.

The Central Committee accused Mashal of seeking to inflame the situation to avoid signing a unity deal.

Hamas political leader, Mosheer Al Masry, said that the movement has several reservations on the Egyptian document, but added that Hamas is interested in achieving reconciliation and unity.

He said that Hamas is willing to pressure itself into accepting the Egyptian document for the sake of unity as long as it does not harm the Palestinian national interests.

The U.S Foreign Ministry said that it supports the reconciliation efforts as long as they lead to respecting the principles of the Quartet Committee.

On Tuesday, Israeli paper, Haaretz, reported that the United States informed Egypt that it does not support the Palestinian unity deal, and claimed that such a deal obstructs the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

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