By NNN-KUNA
Amman : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said here that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) held talks with Israel privately in Tel Aviv.
The talks, dealing with political and security issues, aim at securing a deal to stop attacks against Israel in exchange for the latter’s targeted killing of Hamas leaders, Abbas revealed in statements to the press at the house of Palestine’s ambassador to Jordan Monday.
Meanwhile, he asserted that Egypt and Israel have reached a preliminary deal on the reopening of the Rafah crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
“The deal will be complete by next week. When implemented, it will significantly relieve the suffering of Gazans under the Israeli siege,” Abbas said.
“The deal must be approved by Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), the United States and the European Union as was the case with the former five-party deal,” he said.
“Talks are also underway between the PNA and Israel on the final status issues, namely, Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, final border lines, water, security and Jewish settlements,” he said.
“The failure of the difficult final status talks could lead to a catastrophe on all arenas,” Abbas added.
“Without US pressures and effective influence on Israel, the talks are unlikely to lead to a deal,” he said.
“The possible deal will be referred to public referendum in the Palestinian territories to let the Palestinian people have their say on it,” he added.
As for the PNA-Hamas standoff, he recalled the development of the crisis since its very beginning and announced his readiness to hold early legislative and presidential elections in the occupied territories.
In this context, Abbas reaffirmed support to the initiative of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to solve the crisis with Hamas.
He plans to send a delegation to Sanaa, capital of Yemen, to hold talks with Hamas representatives under Saleh’s mediation, with a view to restore Palestinian national unity.
The PNA is still shouldering its responsibility for the Gaza Strip. It spends 58 per cent of its financial resources on the Hamas-ruled area, Abbas said.
Earlier Monday, he held talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II on the latest developments of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories especially in the Gaza Strip.
Abbas arrived here on Saturday for a three-day official visit to Jordan. He is scheduled to leave Monday evening for Dakar, Senegal to attend the two-day summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).