Hamas: Palestinian reconciliation best answer to Israeli freeze end

Sep 27, 2010, 14:34 GMT

Damascus - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called on Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas Monday to pursue reconciliation between his Fatah party and the Islamist movement, saying it is the best response to Israel's weekend failure to extend a settlement-building freeze.

He also argued that the Palestinian Authority should 'honor their position' of ending renewed Middle East peace talks if the construction moratorium was allowed to expire, and that the Arab League should not give the negotiations another chance.

The construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank has been a sticking point in the latest round of United States-mediated direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which kicked off in Washington earlier this month.

Israel allowed the 10-month construction moratorium to expire late Sunday, even though Abbas had threatened to walks out of the talks if such a scenario unfolded.

Palestinian officials said Monday that Abbas will not make a final decision on whether to continue the peace talks before October 4, when the Arab League will meet to discuss the way forward.

Meshaal argued that internal reconciliation would make the Palestinians more powerful in negotiations, calling it a national necessity and the best way to react to the 'Zionist intransigence.'

His comments came in the wake of his meeting in the Syrian capital Damascus - where he lives in exile - with Fatah's Azzam al-Ahmad on Friday. The two factions vowed to continue holding reconciliation talks.

The meeting followed nearly three years of bloody clashes and political tension between Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which dominates the West Bank.