Fatah leader assails Hamas stance on truce proposal

Dubai: With Hamas still seeking clarifications over Israeli response to an Egyptian truce proposal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, prominent Fatah member Nabeel Amr has criticised Hamas' position, accusing it of inflexibility in the ceasefire negotiations and obstructing a national Palestinian reconciliation dialogue.

Amr, who is also the Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo, rejected Hamas' calls for a new body to replace the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), saying the PLO is still the "strongest and highest" authority.

"That is not true," Amr said in an interview with Gulf News in response to a question whether the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has sidelined the 45-year-old PLO and inactivated its bodies.

"The PLO is (still) the base. All negotiations are being conducted in the name of the PLO. All political relations are being done in the name of the PLO. All embassies are being run through the PLO. Therefore, I don't see any sidelining."

Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mesha'al has raised concerns with his call for a new Palestinian authority. Hamas officials, however, said that what Mesha'al called for was "a new forum to reflect positions of all Palestinian factions".

"The two are the same thing (to us)," Amr commented. Hamas calls are "rejected", he said.

"The PLO, as a reference, is stronger and more important than the PNA."

Hamas and PNA relations have taken bloody and violent turns in the past few years. Presently, Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and the PNA the West Bank. The rift is threatening the future of the cause. Moreover, both sides traded accusations of hindering the reconciliation talks.

"He who stands in the face of reconciliation is the one who puts conditions for dialogue," Amr, who has been active in both PLO and PA for nearly four decades, said.

"We don't put any conditions. We are ready for an agreement tomorrow. We are ready for the dialogue tomorrow. (But) Hamas put conditions," Amr added.

Reconciliation dialogue that was scheduled last November collapsed after Hamas accused Fatah of arresting scores of its members, calling for their release first.

Amr, also, accused Hamas of inflexibility during truce negotiations with Israel, which he also said is "manoeuvring".

"Whoever thinks seriously of the basic interests of the Palestinian people would have shown more flexibility in the issue of truce," Amr said. "Because dragging Israel once again into a war, no matter what the reasons are, will lead to more catastrophes on the Palestinian side."

While some Hamas officials have accused the PNA of establishing security relations with the Israelis against the group, the PNA has accused Hamas of serving the interest of "non-Arab regional" countries, in reference to Iran.

"We have (peace) agreements with Israel, and Hamas knows this," Amr said. The PNA also has ties with the US, like any other Arab country.

"Our relations with the world are different from Hamas' relations with Iran. No militia should establish alliances abroad and outside the national and frame," he said.

Hamas denies these charges.