Hamas to receive an official invitation for dialogue in Cairo

Tuesday September 09, 2008 12:19 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

Local leader of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, Khalil Alhaya, announced yesterday night that his party would receive am official invitation from Cairo to attend rounds of national dialogues, underway in the Egyptian capital.

Hamas's local leader, Khalil Alhaya

Alhaya confirmed to the Gaza-based Ramattan News Agency that the invitation will be sent by the end of this month and that Hamas is ready for such a dialogue depending on the basis of the Palestinian election results and whether it is supporting efforts to end the Palestinian division.

Alhaya called on the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Cairo to take firm decisions as to lifting the Israeli blockade on Gaza, especially after these ministers had earlier described Gaza as 'traumatized.'

Meanwhile, Spokesman of Hamas in Gaza , Sami Abu Zuhri, emphasized on the need that any national dialogue should be based on the respect of all Palestinian legitimacies including the election results of 2006, which brought his party to power. Abu Zuhri said in a statement that any Arab intervention in internal Palestinian issues should be balanced and respectful of legitimacy.

 He criticized the exclusion of Hamas government's representatives from the Arab ministers meeting. The meeting included representatives of the Ramallah-based government, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and his Western-backed Premier, Salam Fayyad.

Earlier in September, representatives of various Palestinian factions headed for Cairo to attend rounds of talks with Egyptian officials, aimed at ending Palestinian division, mainly between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007, amidst factional fighting with Fatah. Since then, dialogue has been stalled between the two rival parties.

gaza strip | internal unrest | news report rami at imemc dot org