Hamas denies Meshaal is meeting with Abbas in Qatar

Hamas has denied that any meeting has been planned between the movement’s leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. A spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Ismail Ridwan, contradicted a claim by senior Fatah leader Yahya Rabah that Abbas would meet with Meshaal in Doha on Monday.

Ridwan also responded to Abbas’s claim that Hamas and Israel have a joint understanding about establishing a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. “The claim is a lie that does not warrant a reply,” he insisted.

“Abu Mazen [Abbas] is the principal behind the security cooperation with the Israelis,” added the Hamas spokesman. “As such he is a party to the Israeli siege on Gaza and has been signing concession agreements with the occupation authorities. The latest deal, which included many concessions, was the bid at the UN Security Council for recognition of a Palestinian state.”