Ahmadinejad to host Palestinian summit

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hold a summit with heads of the Palestinian terror organizations, Al-Khaleej newspaper, which is published in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reported Wednesday.

The newspaper also said that it was possible that Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the political department in the PLO and secretary-general of Fatah, would also attend.

Khaled Mashaal, Hamas politburo chief, Nawaf Hawatma, secretary-general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Ahmad Jibril, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) and Ramadan Shallah, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad, are just a few of the Palestinian figures taking part in the summit.

The newspaper, which quoted senior Palestinian sources, estimated the purpose of the Tehran summit, scheduled for Thursday, was to strengthen Iran's hold in the Palestinian Authority. Ahmadinejad, said the report, is to use his influence to try and help bridge the gap between Hamas and Fatah.

Sources in the Islamic Jihad told the newspaper that Hamas plans to present the summit with an initiative meant to reunify Palestinian leadership. The DPLP is expected to bring a similar initiative to the table.

The report also quotes Syrian sources as saying "Damascus fully supports Iran's efforts – and all other Arab efforts – to bring the spilt within the Palestinian leadership, which is causing the (Palestinian) cause great damage, to its end."