Khaled Meshaal with PA leader Mahmoud Abbas
Photo: Reuters
Hamas' Meshaal vows to continue fight against Israel
Working to advance unity deal with Fatah, Hamas' leader says group working to bury hatchet with Abbas' Fatah, but said would continue resistance against Israel.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Tuesday the Islamist group was close to mending rifts with rival President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization, but vowed that resistance against Israel will continue.
Speaking at a gathering in Doha, Qatar to mark the Nakba, the annual commemoration of what Palestinians term "the catastrophe" of their displacement when Israel was founded, Meshaal said Hamas has made sacrifices for the reconciliation to take place.
"We have turned the page on this division... Hamas has already made sacrifices and this was necessary to be closer with our brothers, but with the invader we will not make any compromises," he said.
Hamas and the PLO announced a unity pact on April 23 after a long line of failed efforts to reconcile seven years of bickering. Upon the announcement of a deal, the two sides envisioned a unity government within five weeks and national elections six months later.
Israel said after the announcement that Abbas had chosen Hamas over peace and cancelled a session of US-brokered talks with the Palestinians that had been scheduled for Wednesday night in Jerusalem.
A source close to Hamas said details of the pact are currently being finalised between the two groups in Doha.
Earlier this month, Abbas was in Doha for what was described as a personal visit. However, he met with Meshaal and the two held "positive" discussions, according to local media reports in Qatar.
This week Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub, who has close ties with Abbas, was in Doha and also met Meshaal, a source familiar with the matter said.
"I'm aware that many real challenges lay ahead. We can overcome them," said Meshaal.
Since the unity pact was signed on April 23, Hamas members have complained of arrests in the West Bank by security services loyal to Abbas. Meshaal said he urged the Palestinian Authority to stop the arrests.
In 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza, ousting forces loyal to Abbas, a year after it swept parliamentary elections.
Along with the United States and the European Union, Israel views Hamas as a terrorist organization and says Abbas' efforts to unify with the group show he is not serious about extending the troubled negotiations.
However, Meshaal views the reconciliation as "opening new options" for attaining the Palestinians' common goals.
"The reconciliation does not mean an end to our resistance against the invaders, resistance will continue as long as the occupation exists."
