By Xinhua,
Gaza : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should hold talks with Hamas or resign, a Hamas lawmaker said on Saturday.
“After all his choices failed, the Palestinian president has nothing but to return to the internal Palestinian dialogue or leave,” said Mushier al-Massri, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
Hamas ousted Abbas’ Fatah movement from the Gaza Strip in a deadly fighting a year ago and ruled the territory. Abbas fired Hamas government after the Gaza takeover and formed a Western-backed cabinet based in the West Bank.
In a televised speech on Wednesday, Abbas suddenly said he is ready to start dialogue with Hamas despite American and Israeli banning on such contacts.
Though Hamas welcomed Abbas’ call for reconciliation, al-Massri said that Hamas “can’t accept the dialogue if it was motivated with U.S. and Israeli orders.”
Israel also threatened to stop peace talks with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which the U.S. helped resume after Abbasand Hamas called off their national dialogue.