Palestinian factions to resume negotiations in Cairo

Gaza City/Cairo - Representatives of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah on Saturday expressed little hope of a deal on the eve of a sixth round of Egyptian-brokered talks. Egyptian mediators have said they hope Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which controls Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank, could sign a deal forming a 'national unity' government by July 7, but representatives of both factions said they had low expectations. Senior Fatah negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed said it was unlikely that a deal could be reached by next week 'because of unresolved, wide gaps between the two sides' positions.' Negotiators from both sides were scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Saturday evening before resuming talks Sunday, representatives of the groups said. Five previous rounds of talks have faltered over the details of the conduct of elections, control of Palestinian security forces, and each group's arrest of members of the other. Al-Ahmed said that a Thursday speech by exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal 'did not give any indication that Hamas is ready to sign a deal.' The Fatah negotiator said the two sides were still discussing whether they should form a national unity government that would respect previous commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, or whether they should accept an Egyptian compromise that would create a joint committee to coordinate between the Hamas and Fatah governments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. According to the Egyptian proposal, the committee would provide a conduit for foreign aid to both reconstruct the Gaza Strip following Israel's winter bombardment of the territory and to prepare for elections. Most foreign donors have stipulated that none of their aid should fall into Hamas' hands. Hamas and Fatah have both complained that the other has conducted politically motivated arrests in the territories they control. Al-Ahmed said that 84 Hamas members were released from West Bank prisons last week, and that an additional 44 were released on Friday. 'Abbas' security forces release 40 people, and arrest another 30 Hamas members on the same day,' Omar Abdel-Raziq, a senior Hamas leader in the West Bank, retorted. 'The security forces are releasing Hamas members to create a positive atmosphere for the ... dialogue,' al-Ahmed said. '(Hamas) doesn't say anything about 209 Fatah members imprisoned in Hamas jails in Gaza.' 'We don't have new demands related to the unity government, the elections or the reforming of the security apparatuses, but we have stances concerning all these issues,' said Abdel-Raziq. Abdel-Raziq said he hoped Egyptian intelligence officials mediating the talks would present new compromise solutions to end the impasse between the rival Palestinian factions, particularly on the subject of Hamas prisoners held in the West Bank. 'Unfortunately, all the indications are not encouraging,' said West Bank political analyst Hani al-Masri. 'Even if the parties sign a deal on July 7 so as not to embarrass Egypt, implementing the deal on the ground would be difficult amid the political arrests in both Gaza and West Bank and the political feuds between the two groups,' he said.