Hamas: Abbas envoys held secret talks with Mashaal

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Envoys of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have been holding secret meetings with Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal to end deadly Palestinian infighting and prepare new coalition talks, senior officials said. Abbas will come to Damascus early next week to meet Mashaal and Syrian officials, said Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau in Syria. "I hope his (Abbas') meetings in Damascus will be constructive and lead to solving all outstanding problems that have broken the dialogue in the past," said Abu Marzouk in an interview with The Associated Press. An Abbas aide confirmed that the Palestinian president planned to meet with Mashaal on Monday.