A senior Fatah official said on Saturday that talks with rival Hamas movement are likely to be held following an international Middle East peace conference slated for November.
Qadora Fares, a member of the central committee of President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah, told reporters that "I believe dialogue between the two movements is a certain choice, but I think it is delayed until after the conference in the fall."
According to Fares, Fatah would have to reconsider its stance, which bans any dialogue with Hamas, if the conference failed to make any breakthrough in creating a Palestinian statehood.
"But if such a breakthrough is achieved, then Hamas has to revise itself and be more realistic in dealing with the political development," he added.
U.S. President George W. Bush called for an international meeting aimed to resume the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process after Abbas in June fired a short-lived coalition government with Hamas, deemed by the U.S. a terrorist organization.
Hamas, which won January 2006 elections, seized control of the Gaza Strip in mid June after fierce fighting with pro-Abbas forces. Abbas labelled the takeover a coup against his legitimacy.
Following the Gaza takeover, Abbas has been meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert almost regularly, hoping to reach a declaration of principles to be presented to the U.S.- sponsored conference.
Source: Xinhua
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