Deposed Hamas PM says ready for immediate, unconditional national dialogue

By Xinhua,

Gaza : Deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya Sunday said his government is ready to start immediate national dialogue without any condition.


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“We are ready to enter the national dialogue without conditions to discuss all outstanding issues today before tomorrow and we are determined,” Haneya told a press conference in the Hamas-controlled Gaza.

He said his government, which was fired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas’ bloody takeover of Gaza last June, wants to end the political split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The political split widened in June 2007 when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and ousted his Fatah movement in fierce fighting in Gaza. Abbas consolidated his power in the West Bank where he formed a western-backed government.

Abbas banned any contact between his movement and Hamas which continued to rule the coastal strip. But last month, he launched an initiative for dialogue with Hamas, and in response, the Islamic movement welcomed it.

Haneya also pledged to “break” the siege that Israel imposed on the impoverished territory following Hamas’ reign of Gaza, saying that “overcoming the siege is imminent and became definite.”

Hamas and Israel maintain a ceasefire since June 19 under an Egyptian-brokered deal, but the Islamic movement accuses the Jewish state of not completely easing the embargo.

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