Gulf | Yemen

Fatah negotiators to leave Yemen without Hamas deal

Yemeni-brokered talks on reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed and Fatah negotiators are returning to the West Bank without a deal.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:19 March 21, 2008
  • Gulf News

Ramallah: Yemeni-brokered talks on reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed and Fatah negotiators are returning to the West Bank without a deal, aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday.

The main point of contention appeared to be Fatah's demand, included in a Yemeni proposal, for Hamas Islamists to give up control of the Gaza Strip, territory they seized from the secular faction in June.

"The matter has ended in failure because Hamas refused to accept the Yemeni initiative as it is," said Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo.

"Our delegation will come back home tomorrow but it is ready to head back to Yemen once Hamas accepts the initiative as it is."

The Yemeni proposal calls for the situation in the Gaza Strip to return to the way it was before the Hamas takeover and for Palestinian elections to be held, conditions endorsed by Abbas and so far rejected by Hamas.

Conditions

The plan also envisages creation of another unity government and the rebuilding of Palestinian security forces along national rather than factional lines.

Another Abbas aide, Nabeel Abu Rdainah, said Hamas had added "conditions and reservations" to the Yemeni plan.

Fatah has said it would agree to direct reconciliation talks with Hamas only if Hamas first consented to relinquish its hold on the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.

Hamas voiced surprise at the decision.

"Hamas holds Fatah responsible for the failure of the meetings in Yemen," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from Yemen

  1. Third Yemeni fighter jet crashes in Al Houthi area

  2. Fighter jet down near Yemen border

  3. Saudi says regains area seized by Yemen rebels

  4. Iran accused of 'breeding rebels'

All articles in Yemen

More from Gulf

Gulf News
Popular in News
News Editor's choice