Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on Thursday blamed Islamic Hamas movement on the failure of holding a national Palestinian dialogue.

    The dialogue was due to be held in Cairo on Nov. 9, but Egypt postponed it after Hamas said it would boycott the meeting.

    "Egypt has patiently tried to overcome all the obstacles and the conditions that Hamas put," the PLO's decision-making body, the executive committee, said in a statement. "Hamas' conditions were aimed at sabotaging the chances of launching the dialogue."

    Egypt proposed the formation of a Palestinian unity government, reforming the security services and holding early elections to reconcile Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.

    Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, raised several reservations on the Egyptian-drafted agenda, considering them automatically extending Abbas' term as president. Hamas also said it boycotted the dialogue because pro-Abbas forces continued clampdown against its supporters in West Bank.

    "The executive committee rejects all the pretexts that Hamas put, especially its attempts to harm the president's role and his dignity as the Palestinian National Authority president and the PLO chief."

    The statement added that "the only place which witnesses political arrests is (the Hamas-controlled) Gaza Strip." Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and took over Gaza Strip last year.

    The PLO accused Hamas of withdrawing from the Egyptian-sponsored dialogue "in response to regional powers," implicitly referring to Iran and Syria which support Hamas. The Islamic Jihad faction, which is also backed by Iran, boycotted the dialogue too.

    The executive committee called on the Arab nations and the Arab League "to take a clear attitude towards the party that thwarted the dialogue."