By Xinhua,
Ramallah : A senior Fatah movement official on Sunday called on Islamic Hamas movement to accept President Mahmoud Abbas’s initiative to launch a comprehensive dialogue.
Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Fatah spokesman in the West Bank told “Voice of Palestine” Radio that “We don’t want Hamas just to make statements welcoming Abbas initiative, we want statements saying they accept it.”
On June 4, Abbas made a televised speech and presented an initiative to launch a comprehensive internal dialogue among all Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas to end the current Palestinian crisis.
Deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haneya and other Hamas leaders welcomed Abbas’s initiative and said they are ready to launch a dialogue anytime and anywhere. Both agreed to prepare for the dialogue by ending media campaigns.
Hamas movement routed President Mahmoud Abbas security forces in the Gaza Strip after it took control of the enclave by force one year ago. Gaza Strip was completely isolated from the rest of the Palestinian territories since then.
“President Abbas’s initiative was a historic event and opened anew page in the internal Palestinian relations,” Abdel Rahman said, adding “all parties should show concerns in order to achieve a national unity among all the Palestinians.”
A well-informed Palestinian source expected that the dialogue between Fatah and Hamas might be launched in early July at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
Abdel Rahman, meanwhile, denied an earlier Israeli Radio report saying that Abbas is planning to send a Fatah delegation to visit Gaza to meet with Hamas leaders and prepare for launching the dialogue.