Mashaal accuses Abbas of causing Israeli offensive in Gaza

Mar 1, 2008, 16:29 GMT

Damascus - Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based leader of the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, accused Palestinian authority leader Mahmoud Abbas Saturday of causing the Israeli offensive into Gaza Strip by saying Hamas supported the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

'I accuse the leader of the Palestinian authority of providing an excuse for this Israeli Holocaust, whether he meant it or not,' Mashaal told reporters during a press conference in Syria.

He added: 'Is it logical that a Palestinian leader accuses his people in Gaza and accuses them of supporting the al-Qaeda? Isn't it a chance for the Zionists and Americans to launch the attack?'

Mashaal said the Annapolis meeting between the Arab and Israeli leaders last November to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had not yielded any benefits.

He said: 'What happened after the Annapolis meeting? Nothing happened after Annapolis. Even the Arab initiative, the Israelis and the Americas didn't consider it'.

Mashaal expressed willingness for an open dialogue with the Fatah movement, if restrictions were not imposed on Hamas.

'If Arab leaders think that the magic solution for ending the conflict is in dialogue, we are ready to meet with the Fatah members anywhere, in Sanaa or Cairo or Jeddah,' said Mashaal.

Mashaal added: 'If any of the Arab leaders managed to reach an Israeli commitment to stop offensives on Gaza and the West bank, we are willing to deal peacefully in this and stop our attacks'.

Mashaal said Arab leaders had tried to resolve the conflict, but none of them have managed to stop Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

'I say it publicly, not under the table. Examine us. Let an Arab leader or even an international leader stop the Israeli offensive and then order us to stop the rocket attacks on them,' Mashaal said.

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and 60 wounded on Saturday in an Israeli army ground operation in the north-eastern Gaza Strip.