Hamas chief in Yemen to discuss Palestinian talks

Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:45am EDT

SANAA, July 13 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Yemen for top-level talks on Sunday on reviving Yemeni efforts to broker reconciliation between the two main Palestinian factions after a previous attempt faltered in March.

Meshaal made no comment to the media on arrival. He was due to meet Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi later in the day.

Tensions between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction have been high since the Islamist movement routed the more secular Fatah forces from the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and wrested control of the territory of 1.5 million people.

Abbas dismissed a Hamas-led Palestinian unity government after the Gaza takeover.

Several attempts by Arab leaders to reconcile Abbas and Hamas have failed to heal the rift. Yemen tried to broker a deal in March, but efforts broke down in disagreement over whether Hamas should cede control of Gaza before formal talks.

Many Palestinians fear that a failure to end the factional division soon could make it more permanent and in turn render Abbas's talks with Israel on Palestinian statehood close to irrelevant.

Hamas opposes Abbas's U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Caroline Drees)



Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.