Egypt "not ready to host reconciliation talks"

Deputy Hamas chief Mousa Abu-Marzouk has said that Egypt is not ready to host reconciliation talks; in any case, the decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks with Israel has, he added, put reconciliation in “the refrigerator” for the time being.

Speaking to Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper in London, Abu-Marzouk said that there have been telephone contacts with Fatah, with the last one following Abbas’s recent visit to Cairo. He played down Fatah’s threats that Abbas could issue a presidential decree about the timetable of presidential and parliamentary elections without any arrangement with Hamas because it hinders reaching an agreement. “Such threats are not needed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the senior official claimed that the movement’s decision to release documents proving the cooperation of Fatah and Palestinian Authority officials with the Egyptian media regarding the defamation campaign against Hamas had actually led to the campaign being brought to an end. Leaks and information about Hamas attributed to anonymous sources have, he said, stopped appearing in the media.