Region | Palestinian Territories
Hamas calls for reconciliation talks with all factions
Group's senior leader criticises American obstacles that prevented a ceasefire resolution by the UN Security Council
- By Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor
- Published: 23:35 January 4, 2009
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Dubai: Hamas, which is facing a massive and brutal Israeli assault, has called on all Palestinian factions to meet for reconciliation talks, a senior official in the organisation said on Sunday.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas politburo, also slammed American obstacles preventing a ceasefire agreement by the UN Security Council early on Sunday and said both the United States and Israel share responsibility for "massacring" Palestinians.
Speaking to Gulf News, Abu Marzouk said Hamas has offered an initiative that aims to reach "national unity for the sake of facing the Zionist enemy".
Hamas' call for all Palestinian factions to meet and talk has so far got "the approval of some factions, while the rest are still studying it", Abu Marzouk said without providing details.
He did not elaborate on the position of Fatah, which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas belongs to and which is Hamas' main rival.
A place and date for the suggested dialogue will be specified later by all parties, Abu Marzouk said.
Meanwhile, meetings were taking place in Gaza among various Palestinian factions. Also, there is a "joint command room for all the Palestinian groups", Abu Marzouk said.
"Yes, yes", he said to a question on whether the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah, was among the participating factions.
Israel's intensive air attacks on Gaza, which started on December 31, followed by a ground invasion on Saturday, has united the Palestinians. But they have not bridged the political differences between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, headed by Abbas.
After Israel launched its land invasion Saturday evening, Abbas urged the Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire.
A spokesman for Abbas condemned the Israeli attack as "vicious aggression".
The Security Council held a special meeting to discuss the latest developments. Several council diplomats said the US refusal to back the Libyan-drafted demand for an immediate truce had killed the initiative, since council statements must be passed unanimously.
The US State Department said a ceasefire should take place "as soon as possible", in a statement that urged Israel to be "mindful of the potential consequences to civilians". But it did not refer directly to the invasion or call for an immediate truce.
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in the assault. Hamas rockets from Gaza on Israel have killed four people and wounded dozens.
Abu Marzouk said Hamas has not "bet on any of the Security Council members to bring justice to our people... We bet on our ability and our resistance members in deterring the aggression".
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy starts a regional tour today to discuss the latest developments in Gaza and a possible ceasefire. Sarkozy is "carrying an important initiative for a ceasefire", Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, was quoted as saying by AFP.
"We don't know what he has to say. We will find out, at the end," Abu Marzouk said, adding that no contact or meeting has been scheduled between Sarkozy and Hamas leaders.
Israel has rejected an earlier French proposal for a two-day ceasefire.
EU delegation
Also, a EU delegation headed by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarz-enberg was set to visit the Middle East on Sunday to discuss ceasefire efforts. The Czech Republic on Thursday took over the presidency of the European Union from France.
Both British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday the international community should press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Russia has dispatched its Middle East envoy to the region to help bring about a ceasefire.
Ceasefire calls were also issued by the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi, who described the Israeli offensive as "unjustified", while Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso warned that Israel's ground offensive would only aggravate difficulties for all concerned.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who also holds the presidency of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, called the Israeli ground offensive a "flagrant violation of the most elementary principles of international law".
At the same time, the European Union's new Czech presidency said Israel's ground operation was more "defensive than offensive", while Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Israel's offensive against Gaza cannot be condemned as long as Hamas continues firing rockets.
- With input from agencies
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