Meshaal urges West to back Al Fatah deal

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Meshaal urges West to back Al Fatah deal

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Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urges the US and the EU to support Hamas-Al Fatah reconciliation deal.

09 May,2011 09:12 am

Meshaal told a foreign news agency in an interview that the issue of Palestinian recognition of Israel could only be addressed after an independent state was set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Concerning the international position on the reconciliation and specifically Europe and the United States is still unclear. But we hope that they respect our will and decision as Palestinians, because this is an internal Palestinian matter which nobody can impose on, Meshaal said.The deal calls for forming an interim government to run the West Bank, where Fatah is based, and the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, and prepare for long-overdue parliamentary and presidential elections within a year.The Damascus-based Meshaal was in Cairo to attend a ceremony hosted by Egypt that formally ended four years of strife between Hamas and its rival Al Fatah, whose leader is Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Israel condemned the Egyptian-brokered accord because of the inclusion of Hamas and as a protest had blocked the transfer of $105 million in customs duties and other levies it collected on behalf of Abbass Palestinian Authority.The United States has voiced reservations, saying it was important that the Palestinians ensure implementation of the deal in a way that advances the prospects of peace. Israel has alleged the accord advances the agenda of terrorism, not peace.