Palestinian rivals postpone Damascus talks

Planned reconciliation talks between Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been postponed. The meeting was due to take place on Wednesday in the Syrian capital Damascus, where the decision-making body of Hamas operates in exile.

Reuters

"Fatah asked for the meeting to be moved from Damascus, something which was neither justified nor acceptable," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told AFP.

"We condemn Fatah's insistence on a change of venue, which goes against what we agreed at the last meeting in Damascus, which was that the next meeting should be held in the same place."

Arabic press reports said Fatah had requested a change of venue following a row
between Abbas and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at an Arab summit in Libya earlier this month over policy towards peace talks with Israel.

“Contacts will be made between the two sides to arrange a new date," a Hamas statement said.

Divisions between the two factions worsened after Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Abbas's Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank, and both sides have accused each other of arresting and mistreating supporters.