GAZA CITY Ñ Hamas has suspended talks with the Palestinian Authority
regarding its efforts for a ceasefire in the war against Israel.
The talks were suspended as Palestinian insurgents launched a new wave
of attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas said it had stopped negotiations with PA Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas because of a disagreement regarding the Aqaba summit last week. The
group said it failed to obtain a commitment from Abbas to withdraw from his
pledge to end the Israeli-Palestinian war and negotiate with Israel.
"This matter is final unless Mahmoud Abbas retracts his Aqaba speech,"
Hamas spokesman Abdul Aziz Rentisi said on Saturday.
The PA has denied that Hamas broke off talks with Abbas, PA Culture
Minister Ziad Abu Amr said Abbas will meet with all of the factions by
Monday.
"Both the government and Hamas have no choice but to continue with the
dialogue because we have both committed ourselves to avoiding internal
conflict," Amr said.
Officials said Egypt has intervened in the deadlock between the PA and
Hamas.
On Sunday, Israel renewed its closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
amid what officials said was an unprecedented number of alerts of
Palestinian plans to attack Israeli civilian and military targets. Officials
said the alerts warn of suicide strikes in Israel, mostly from the Gaza
Strip.
Overnight Sunday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian insurgent in the
Gaza Strip. Israeli military sources said the insurgent, armed with a
semi-automatic rifle, approached an Israeli post near the Kissufim terminal.
Hours later, three Palestinian insurgents wearing military uniforms
opened fire toward Israeli soldiers and Palestinian laborers at the Erez
terminal in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said at least eight
Israelis were injured when the insurgents fired within the Erez industrial
zone. The insurgents were said to have been killed by the Israeli force.
