Palestinian unity talks start in Cairo

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-01 23:57

CAIRO -- Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah began a third round of reconciliation talks on Wednesday in Cairo aimed at forging a possible unity government, the Egyptian state news agency MENA said.

A Palestinian protester uses a sling to hurl stones towards Israeli border police officers (not seen) during a demonstration marking Land Day in the West Bank village of Nilin, near Ramallah March 30, 2009. [Agencies]

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday there was "a strong chance" the talks would succeed in healing the almost two-year rift between the groups, who fought a brief but bloody civil war that culminated in Hamas's seizure of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Egyptian-sponsored talks foundered last month on details of the shape and agenda of an interim government that would oversee the rebuilding of Gaza and prepare for elections.

A major sticking point was whether the new government would be committed to peace deals signed between Israel and the PLO.

Haniyeh said differences over policy toward Israel could be bridged by pledging to "respect" past agreements with the Jewish state, wording that has in the past fallen short of Western demands that any Palestinian government recognise Israel.

Fatah and Hamas differ fundamentally on how to deal with Israel. Hamas believes in armed struggle but is willing to consider long-term, renewable truces, while Abbas says negotiations with the Jewish state are the best option.

Nabil Shaath, a senior official from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, was quoted by MENA this week as saying that the current round of talks would be "decisive."

An unnamed senior Egyptian official was also quoted by MENA as saying that other Palestinian groups would be invited for talks in the event of a breakthrough between Hamas and Fatah, the two largest groups.

Palestinian groups meeting in Cairo agreed in principle in March to form a unity government and hold legislative and presidential elections by January 25, 2010, but did not agree on policy towards Israel.

The West had shunned a previous unity government headed by Hamas after the Islamist group won parliamentary elections in 2006 in a move many Arab perceived as Western powers punishing the Palestinians for their democratic choice.