Hamas rejects offer to join PA cabinet (Jerusalem, Israel, islam)

[jewscout]

Hamas rejects offer to join PA cabinet



Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Damascus on Thursday with Syrian President Bashar Assad on the Middle East peace process and the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Abbas, who arrived in Damascus on Wednesday night, was also scheduled to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal later in the day to discuss the possibility of bringing Hamas into the PA cabinet.

"President Abbas briefed Assad on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and efforts to revive the peace process," said a senior PA official in Ramallah. "He also briefed him on the problems facing the Palestinian Authority, especially Israel's intransigence and ... the expansion of settlements and the construction of the separation wall." According to the official, during the meeting Assad expressed his country's support for the Palestinians' "struggle against Israeli occupation and for the right of return of all refugees to their original homes inside Israel, as well as the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital." Moreover, Assad said Syria backed Abbas's efforts to form a "national unity government" that would include Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other radical groups.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1120702713300