Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, on Monday denied press reports that the Egyptian government had invited Hamas and Fatah movements to visit Cairo after Eid al Adha to discuss means of resuming dialogue between them.
In a press statement, Abu Zuhri said that the news reports are completely baseless and were meant to cover up for facts on the ground. According to him, Arab mediation bids were made especially on the part of Cairo and Riyadh to hold a meeting between Fatah and Hamas, but the efforts were always blocked by the unreasonable conditions put by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas.
According to PIC, the spokesman welcomed the meeting between a Hamas delegation and Saudi officials in Riyadh on Sunday, pointing out that similar meetings would be held between Hamas and Egyptian officials later on. Abu Zuhri, however, ruled out that contacts between members of both movements in the West Bank would lead to opening a "horizon" for dialogue.
He commented on recent press reports which claimed that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are pushing both parties to reopen negations. Media sources indicated that Hamas leaders headed by Khaled Mesha'l met with Saudi leaders in Riyadh on Sunday. Similar meetings are expected to take place between Hamas and several Egyptian leaders later, in anticipation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' return to the negotiating table.
