Damascus - Talks to reconcile differences between feuding
Palestinian factions could fall apart if Egyptian mediators refuse to
consider input from the factions, a source close to the negotiations
said Wednesday.
'Egypt told the Palestinian factions that it would not consider
the comments and amendments made by the factions on the draft
submitted by Cairo,' said Khaled Abdel Meguid, secretary of the
follow-up committee of a national meeting of Palestinians.
The talks, scheduled to run from November 10-11, are designed to
seek peace between the Islamic group Hamas, which has de facto
control of the Gaza Strip, and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority,
which runs the West Bank. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to
officiate at the meeting.
'Cairo's refusal to consider the amendments threaten the
possibility of holding the conference. The leaders of the Palestinian
factions are re-examining their positions again,' Abdel Meguid told
Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
'The factions will determine their final positions towards the
Egyptian call in the next few days,' added Abdel Meguid, pointing out
that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - who heads the secular
Fatah movement - will chair the meetings of the Palestinian national
dialogue.
Egypt has been brokering national reconciliation talks between all
Palestinian factions for months. The Egyptian draft, which all
factions received last week, calls for reforming the Palestinian
security services, which is divided between the factions, and forming
a new national unity government.
One of the main missions will be ending the months-long siege of
the Gaza Strip, which Hamas seized control of in June 2007. The strip
has endured international isolation and economic sanctions ever
since.
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