RAMALLAH, 4 June 2008 — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday called for renewed dialogue with the Islamist Hamas. This followed months of his insisting that Hamas must first relinquish control of Gaza. Hamas overran Gaza a year ago and expelled forces loyal to Abbas.
Abbas gave a broadcast speech to his people last evening. Referring to the latest attempt to bridge the rift, he called for “national dialogue to implement the Yemeni initiative in all its elements, to end the internal division that harms our people, (our) cause.”
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu welcomed the call for talks. “We welcome this call by President Abbas to launch a national dialogue, and we consider it a positive step,” he said. Abbas said if the talks succeed, “I will call for new legislative and presidential elections.” Abbas won an election to succeed Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, but Hamas swept his Fatah Part out of power in a 2006 election.
Meanwhile, Israel suspended fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip yesterday after a mortar fired by Palestinian youths struck the territory’s only fuel depot, wounding a Palestinian worker. Israel blamed Hamas, which opposes coexistence with the Jewish state, for the attack on Nahal Oz border crossing.
But Hamas issued a rare denial of involvement and said it would try to halt Palestinian fire against Gaza’s imports conduits. “Fuel deliveries were frozen after the mortar hit,” said Gil Karie, a spokesman for the Israeli District Coordination Office, which oversees deliveries to Gaza.
Deliveries of European Union-funded fuel to Gaza’s sole power station were not affected because no deliveries had been scheduled for yesterday, an EU official said.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement it “condemns the targeting this morning of the fuel pipeline during the delivery of quantities of cooking gas into Gaza.”
“The ministry will try to formulate a united position with Palestinian factions to exclude crossings and the interests of the Palestinian people from the cycle of targets,” it said.
In an earlier development, Abbas said Israel must freeze settlement construction if it wants to engage in serious peace talks. However, Abbas has stopped short of issuing an ultimatum. Abbas spoke at the opening of a special Palestinian Cabinet meeting at his headquarters yesterday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on the European Union yesterday not to upgrade its relations with Israel until the Jewish state adheres to its peace process obligations. The EU should not accede to Israel’s request “until after Israel implements all of its commitments, especially those related to halting all settlement activities and other violations of human rights in Palestine,” Fayyad said.
