[Jerusalem Post] Khaled Abu Toameh - Egypt informed the various Palestinian factions over the weekend of its decision to postpone indefinitely a long-awaited conference for solving the dispute between Hamas and Fatah, PA officials said. The decision came after Hamas told the Egyptians that it would boycott the conference, which was scheduled to open in Cairo on Sunday. A PA official said Saturday that Egyptian President Mubarak was "furious" with Hamas for canceling its participation at the last minute. The official said that Mubarak had instructed his government to suspend all contacts with Hamas and to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top Abbas adviser, said Hamas' decision was taken under pressure from "regional powers" - an apparent reference to Iran and Syria - to foil Egypt's mediation efforts.
2008-11-10 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive