A meeting between Palestinian factions in Egypt to discuss a proposal to stop attacks on Israel was delayed again on Thursday to await the arrival of some delegates, and is likely to go ahead on Friday.
The talks had been planned for Wednesday but were put off to Thursday because of a last-minute dispute about who would attend.
"We cannot begin the dialogue today (Thursday) because we are waiting for the arrival of all the rest of the representatives of Palestinian groups...So the talks will be on Friday afternoon," a senior Palestinian official in Cairo told Reuters.
An Egyptian source said all the factions had now arrived in Cairo and the talks would start on Friday afternoon. He said they could last three days or more.
Saleh Ra'fat, representing the group FIDA, told Reuters that he and Samir Ghosheh, a Palestinian minister and representative of the Popular Struggle Front, had been delayed because Israel had only given them permission to travel late on Wednesday.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said his group would not accept a cease-fire proposal until Israel stops "killings and assaults" of Palestinian civilians.
"Asking someone to cease fire while he is being attacked and assaulted is like asking for the impossible," Yassin said. "We do not agree to freeze or stop armed activities because this represents the right of our people in self-defense," he added.
"Martyrdom attacks are linked to the aggression of the Israeli enemy. If they do not respect the right of our civilians no one will respect the rights of their civilians," Yassin told Reuter. "If the Israeli enemy stopped killing our civilians, stopped its arrests, demolitions and assassinations, we would consider avoiding Israeli civilians." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
