GAZA CITY, 8 October 2007 — The Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza yesterday said it would attend a conference to be held in Syria in November to rival a US-sponsored international Middle East peace meet.
“Hamas and (its political supremo) Khaled Meshaal will participate in this conference in Damascus,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Zuhri said the aim of the rival meeting “is to reaffirm our rights, including Jerusalem and refugees, and to reject any attempts to strip us of any of our rights, especially the attempt to do so at the international conference.”
The rival Islamic Jihad group said it would organize the conference on Nov. 7 in the Syrian capital, ahead of the US meeting expected to take place in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas slammed the rival meeting, calling it illegal. “Any public or official conference without the participation of President Abu Mazen and the executive committee of the PLO is illegal,” said Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdelrahman in a statement.
“Our Syrian brothers cannot accept any conference against the PLO.” Most of the international community recognizes the PLO, headed by Abbas, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians.
Washington had called the autumn conference amid its increased efforts to jumpstart stalled peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians but no date or venue has been confirmed.
Hamas, which is considered a terror group by Israel and has been boycotted by the Palestinian Authority since it violently seized power in Gaza in June, has called on Arab countries to boycott the US meeting.
