Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Hamas Hopes Saudi Mediation Will Lead to Direct Talks with Fatah | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Musa Abu-Marzuq, vice chairman of “Hamas’s” Political Bureau, has urged the Fatah movement to accept an unconditional dialogue and expressed his hope that the Saudi mediation between the two warring movements would result in “direct dialogue.”

Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat after the Hamas delegation’s meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in Riyadh yesterday, he said that “Fatah should not put the cart before the horse”, a reference to Fatah’s calls for a conditional dialogue with Hamas. He pointed out that there is no solution for the present Palestinian crisis except dialogue and added: “There is no other route for healing the rift other than dialogue.”

The Hamas delegation led by Political Bureau Chairman Khalid Mishal met with the Saudi foreign minister yesterday and the talks focused on the consequences of the Gaza Strip’s blockade and the reopening of the Rafah crossing. Abu-Marzuq said that the movement’s delegation reviewed with Prince Saud al-Faisal the Saudi efforts to reunite the Palestinian ranks and added that “our views on many issues were identical” but there are matters which concern the inter-Palestinian dialogue that need to be completed. He pointed out that the meeting reviewed the result of the previous meeting which the movement delegation had held with him in Riyadh recently and the efforts to reorganize the Palestinian house.

He refused to talk about concessions by oneside to the other in order to embark on a dialogue and underlined the movement’s stand on this issue and the need for an unconditional dialogue that leads to “a settlement of the situations, an acceptable and permanent settlement.”