By Xinhua
Ramallah : Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denied on Sunday reports that talks between rival factions of Fatah and Hamas are likely to resume after U.S.-sponsored November peace conference is held.
“There are so many rumors that result from personal judgments,” Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
Erekat reiterated that the Fatah stance regarding the talks with Hamas was very clear, that is, “Hamas has to apologize for the people and draw back what it has done and hand over the security services to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).”
After months of battles with forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, Hamas has taken control of the Gaza Strip while Abbas appointed a new government to rule from the Fatah-influenced West Bank.
Meanwhile, Erekat revealed that Monday meeting between Abbas and U.S. President George W. Bush was meant to “uncover the vagueness surrounding November conference.”
The PNA insists that the conference should be wide-ranging to include all players of the Middle East peace process, including Syria and Lebanon, in order to secure the conference success.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who replaced Hamas’ Ismail Haneya, accompanies Abbas in his visit to the U.S. to attend UN General Assembly meetings.
According to Erekat, Fayyad will head to Washington to participate in another meeting for the donor countries.
“There is a national plan would be submitted to the donors and hope they will deal with it,” said Erekat.