Fatah says Mecca talks "will not fail"

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement said on Thursday that the Mecca talks between Fatah and Hamas will not fail.

Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a spokesman of Fatah, told the Voice of Palestine that the talks will not fail because of attraction of success and devastating consequences of failure.

He said the success of the talks would mean that the West's siege on the Hamas-led government will be lifted, "but failure means infighting and unemployment and poverty."

Hamas and Fatah entered the second day of their talks in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday to form a national unity government and reshuffle the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The talks, sponsored by Saudi King Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz, came after fighting between the two rival factions escalated.

The spokesman said that although the two sides agreed to form a committee to discuss reform of the PLO, any party which wants to join the PLO "must completely commit itself to the political program of the PLO."

"The PLO is the sole representative of the people ... It has negotiated with Israel and signed deals," Abdel Rahman said.

Hamas' charter calls for removing Israel from the Middle East map, the reason why the Hamas-led government is isolated by the international community.

The ongoing political and economic crises force Hamas and Fatah to seek a solution. But Abbas has threatened to resort to early elections if all efforts fail to form an internationally-accepted coalition government.

Source: Xinhua