Fatah party slammed Hamas on Monday, blaming it for the failure of an Egypt-proposed Palestinian unity deal. "Hamas has a bigger stock of lies than (Israeli Premier) Netanyahu," Mohammed Dahlan, a senior Fatah official, told reporters in Ramallah.
"They got everything they asked for in the Egyptian document, and we in Fatah knew that our position would draw fire from the sons of Fatah... But despite all this we agreed to it," he said, according to AFP. "Hamas has thwarted all efforts. They have frustrated us and Egypt."
Last week, Fatah signed the agreement while Hamas has repeatedly postponed its official response, saying it needs more time to mull the deal.
According to Dahlan, in the absence of a deal Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas will call elections for January in accordance with the constitution. "We have taken our final decision to go to elections at the constitutionally appointed time... because we respect the law," he said.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
