By Xinhua,
Gaza : The Islamic Hamas movement on Monday lashed out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for refusing to meet with its politburo chief Khaled Meshaal based in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
After Abbas, now in Syria on a two-day visit, held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he met on Monday with leaders of several Palestinian left-wing and opposition groups, including Islamic Jihad (Holy War) leaders in Damascus except Hamas.
Hamas spokesman in Gaza Ismail Radwan told reporters that his movement expressed regret and sorrow that Abbas refused to meet Meshaal to overcome the current status of internal split.
Well-informed Palestinian sources revealed that Abbas refused to talk with Meshaal for the latter sent a letter to Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa criticizing Abbas’ proposal for holding a comprehensive inter-dialogue.
On June 4, Abbas called for ending the status quo of political cleavage between the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas and the West Bank ruled by his Fatah movement. Hamas later welcomed Abbas’ call for resuming the dialogue.
“Abbas refusal to meet with Khaled Meshaal is clear evidence that Abbas wasn’t serious about his call for launching a comprehensive inter-dialogue to end the disputes between the two movements,” said Radwan.
Meanwhile, Hamas also nudged Abbas in a statement, saying that Abbas prefers meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to talks with Hamas movement’s leader Khaled Meshaal.
Earlier this week, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Abbas and Olmert are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting in Paris on July 13 on the sideline of a conference on the Middle East.