More delays in Palestinian deal

2009-10-15 19:17

Damascus - Syria-based Palestinian groups including the Islamist Hamas said on Thursday they will not sign a reconciliation deal with rival Fatah unless the text includes a clause on the right to resist Israeli occupation.

Fatah has already said it backs the Egypt-mediated Palestinian unity agreement and was due on Thursday to present a signed copy of the accord to Egyptian leaders.

A spokesperson for the Damascus-based Palestinian bloc said, however, that they were not happy with the agreement, saying it "lacks a political vision concerning the conflict (with Israel) and the aggression against our people".

"The Palestinian factions will not sign the accord... unless the text includes the principles and the rights of Palestinians, especially that of resisting the Zionist occupation," said spokesperson Khaled Abdel Majid.

Cairo has been struggling for months to get Fatah and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, to ink a national unity deal, but the two main Palestinian factions have repeatedly postponed the signing.

The latest proposal is designed to pave the way for Palestinian elections next summer.

Long-standing divisions between the two groups climaxed in June 2007 when Hamas - which won parliamentary elections in 2006 - drove Fatah from the Gaza Strip after a week of deadly clashes, cleaving the Palestinian territories into hostile camps.

- SAPA