Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail
Haneya agreed on Wednesday to continue talks over a statehood
proposal in a bid to bridge differences and avoid a showdown in a
coming referendum.
Haneya, who is also a senior leader of the now ruling Islamic
Resistance Movement (Hamas), told reporters after a meeting with
Abbas in Gaza that they agreed to continue a national dialogue over
the proposal in order to overcome differences.
Describing the meeting with Abbas as "positive", Haneya said,
"We have agreed on finding practical ways to overcome current
differences, and we hope that the Palestinian people will soon see
the positive and fruitful outcomes of these meetings with our
brother Mahmoud Abbas."
"We are complying with the national dialogue between the
Palestinian powers, hoping that it will come out with political
accords and approaches toward a united Palestinian attitude to face
internal and external challenges," he added.
Meanwhile, Haneya also agreed to withdraw a recently-formed
security force under Hamas control from the streets of Gaza.
Dispute over security control has led to fierce clashes between
Hamas supporters and regular security forces loyal to Abbas' Fatah
movement with over a dozen people killed in the past month.
Wednesday's meeting was the start of a new round of
inter-Palestinian talks that is expected to last seven days.
The talks are aimed to reach an agreement among Palestinian
factions in a bid to avert a referendum on the statehood
proposal.
The document calls for the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state on the territories seized by Israel in the 1967
Arab-Israeli war. It is seen as implicitly recognizing the Jewish
state.
Last week, Abbas issued a presidential decree to hold a
referendum on the proposal on July 26, but he stressed that talks
would continue and the public vote would not proceed if agreement
was achieved.
Hamas, whose charter formally calls for Israel's destruct, has
so far rejected the proposal and opposed the referendum.
The Islamic group took the reins of the Palestinian government
in late March after a sweeping election victory in January.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2006)
