Representatives of Hamas and Fatah who met in Cairo over the weekend concluded
their talks without reaching any agreement, Palestinian officials said on
Saturday.
The two sides met in a renewed bid to end the dispute between
the two groups, but could not agree on the formation of a Palestinian unity
government or holding new elections.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas
official, held Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the
failure of the Egyptiansponsored reconciliation talks. Abu Marzouk said that
Abbas tried once again to raise issues which the two sides had already agreed
upon.
“If Abbas wants the reconciliation to proceed, he should refrain
from raising issues that we had already reached agreement about,” the Hamas
official said. “Instead, Abbas should be implementing what has already been
agreed upon between Hamas and Fatah.”
Hanna Amireh, member of the PLO
Executive Committee, said that differences erupted between Hamas and Fatah as
soon as they started talking about the details regarding the formation of a
unity government and holding new presidential and legislative elections. He said
the two sides also failed to reach agreement on holding new elections for the
PLO’s parliamentin- exile, the Palestine National Council.
According to
Amireh, the Fatah and Hamas representatives were unable to agree on the dates
for forming a new government and holding elections.
Rabah Muhanna, a
representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who attended
the Cairo discussions, said that the gap between Hamas and Fatah remains as wide
as ever.
He said that Abbas was insisting on forming a unity government
next month and holding elections within three months. Hamas, however, demanded
that no date be set for holding the elections, he added.
Muhanna said
that the two parties also failed to reach agreement on the issue of proportional
representation in the Palestinian Legislative Council.
He said that the
two sides also failed to agree on the makeup of the proposed unity
government.
While Abbas continues to insist that the government consist
of independent figures, Hamas wants its representatives to be part of the
makeup, he explained.
Following the failure of the talks, Abbas left
Cairo heading back to Ramallah.
In addition to Hamas and Fatah,
representatives of several Palestinian groups, including Islamic Jihad,
participated in the “reconciliation” talks.
During his stay in Cairo,
Abbas held talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders Khaled Mashaal and Ramadan
Shallah.