The Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday said meetings between Israeli and Palestinian officials were capitalized as electoral campaign for the benefit of the Israelis.
The latest such meeting took place Saturday between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad who heads a Ramallah-based government which Hamas does not recognize.
"Barak utilizes these meetings for his electoral interests and Fayyad has nothing to do with them, can't make any political achievement and he is unauthorized to do so," said Salah al-Bardaweel, spokesman for Hamas' parliamentary bloc.
Al-Bardaweel said most of these meetings focus on mutual security liaison between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
In the meeting held in Tel Aviv between Barak and Fayyad, the two sides discussed the release of some 200 Palestinians, easing of movement between West Bank cities and the deployment of PNA forces there to restore security.
President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Fayyad as prime minister in June last year after Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and took over control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas rejects the new cabinet since it bypasses the Hamas-dominated parliament.
Although deposed by Abbas following the Gaza takeover, the Hamas-led unity government continues its rule in Gaza, separating the coastal enclave politically from the West Bank.
Source: Xinhua
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