RAMALLAH: A senior Palestinian official on Friday said that Egypt Egyptian mediators have delayed their deadline for Hamas to sign a Palestinian unity deal with Fatah.
A senior Palestinian official told Arab News that the delay was purely technical and did not mean that Egyptian mediators had abandoned their efforts to reconcile the two movements. The official added that the decision to delay the truce deal was made following a request from Hamas and other Palestinian groups which claimed that current atmosphere in the Palestinian territories does not allow for an agreement resulting from Fatah and Palestinian Authority’s (PA) stance on the Goldstone Report.
Salah Al-Bardaweel, the spokesman of Hamas parliamentary bloc, on Friday said that his movement requested a three-day time to respond to Egypt’s proposal on Palestinian unity and reconciliation.
The official did not give a new deadline for wrapping up the deal, which would lead to a general election agreed on by both Fatah and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Fatah has agreed on the Egyptian document.
