 |
| Palestinian Authority President Mahmud
Abbas takes part in a meeting with the executive committee of the
Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank city of
Ramallah.(Xinhua/AFP) |
RAMALLAH,
June 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might give factions three
more days to accept the so-called prisoners' initiative calling for a
Palestinian state alongside Israel after they failed to reach agreement on it by
Monday's deadline, a PLO official said on Tuesday.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, who is a senior member of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told reporters
after a meeting of the committee that Abbas might extend the national dialogue
for three days to allow the factions to reach agreement on the initiative drawn
up by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails last month.
"The Palestinian National Authority is determined to
keep the dialogue until the last moment to secure a united national attitude
based on the prisoners' document," he added. Sources, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, told Xinhua that Abbas and the PLO executive committee had decided to
extend the 10-day deadline for accepting the initiative until Friday, the Moslem
weekend.
The sources said that the PLO executive committee
would recommend holding a referendum by the weekend if the dialogue fails to
agree on the initiative.
On May 25, Abbas opened a national dialogue by giving
Palestinian factions ten days until June 5 to accept the so-called prisoners'
initiative or he would put the proposal to a referendum within 40 days.
Hamas, which remains committed to the destruction of
Israel, has so far refused to accept the document which is widely seen as
implicit recognition of the Jewish state.
Jamal Nazzal, a Hamas lawmaker, told reporters that
Abbas had extended the ultimatum for holding the referendum and didn't extend
the period for the national dialogue.
Earlier, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri urged Abbas
to have more talks in order to overcome political differences.
"We are ready for more dialogue and there is no need
for the referendum," he said.
Hamas premier Ismail Haneya has dismissed the
referendum in the Palestinian territories as illegal. Enditem
