by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly, Fares Akram

    RAMALLAH/GAZA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- West-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his rival Gaza Strip-based Islamic Hamas movement traded on Sunday accusations over delaying an expected inter-Palestinian reconciliation pact due to be declared in Cairo late this month.

    In a pre-recorded speech aired Sunday on the Palestinian state-run satellite television, Abbas accused Islamic Hamas movement of trying to avoid national Palestinian reconciliation, adding that "Hamas' campaign has revealed its real goals in evading the maturity of signing the reconciliation."

    Hamas led a campaign against Abbas and his Palestinian National Authority (PNA) two weeks ago following an Arab and Islamic request to postpone a debate over a UN fact-finding report, which accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes against civilians in Gaza last winter.

    Abbas referred to Hamas' recent request for Egypt to postpone the Cairo-sponsored national dialogue, which aims to restore political unity to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-dominated West Bank.

    On Saturday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said a Hamas delegation visited Cairo and asked for postponing the Palestinian national dialogue, adding that the Egyptian mediators accepted the request.

    A controversial decision by the Fatah-led PNA to delay a vote in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on a report on Israel's 22-day war in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has outraged the Palestinians.

    Hamas led the condemnation against the PNA and President Mahmoud Abbas, accusing them of betrayal. Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Egypt "understood Hamas stance and accepted its request."

    Abbas explained that the UNHRC has only delayed the voting until March 2010 after the PNA "rejected sharp pressures exerted by several countries that intended to change some phrases in the report and tried to withdraw it from the Geneva-based council."

    "We accepted the postponement in order not to empty the draft resolution from its content," said Abbas, accusing Hamas of leading "an incitement campaign that helps Israel to undermine the PNA."

    Defending his position before Hamas' attacks, Abbas accused the Islamic movement of sharing the Jewish state's objectives to weaken the PNA and imposing a long-term truce without an agreement on the issue of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem.

    With regard to inter-Palestinian disputes, Abbas said his Fatah movement and the PNA support Egypt's efforts to reconcile the Palestinian rivals despite Hamas' unilateral acts in the Gaza Strip, adding "we still believe that settling this problem can only be done by returning to the people and the polls."

    The latest Egyptian proposal suggested holding the elections by the middle of next year in order to give more room to implement the reconciliation pact. However, Fatah has urged Abbas on Sunday not to delay the elections which the basic law says must be held no later than Jan. 25, 2010.

    Meanwhile, Abbas ruled out in his speech restarting the peace negotiations with Israel unless Israel commits itself to a series of basic requirements.

    "It will not be acceptable for the Palestinians to resume the peace negotiations with Israel without full stop of the settlement activities and defining the references of the peace process that include ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the Palestinian statehood," said Abbas.

    The peace talks have been stalled since the beginning of this year. The Palestinians insist that Israel should halt all settlement activities in the West Bank before any peace negotiation, while Israel said it will continue the construction of settlement due to "the natural growth."