Hamas says it is considering suspending participation in the inter-Palestinian dialogue. The move follows a violent clash in the West Bank on the weekend, in which six people died in a raid on a Hamas hideout.
Security forces stormed a building in Qalqiliya, a West Bank town known for its strong Hamas presence. The clash began late on Saturday as troops surrounded a leader of the Hamas military wing and his assistant.
Two Hamas gunmen, three policemen and a civilian were killed.
It was the bloodiest clash between the two sides in the West Bank since President Mahmoud Abbas launched a security drive and revived peace talks with Israel in 2007.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said, "We blame Mahmoud Abbas personally and the Fatah movement for what's going on and what will happen in the West Bank. We confirm that there is no meaning to the national reconciliation dialogue with Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah while they destroy the Palestinian people and uproot Hamas."
President Abbas warns his security forces will strike with an iron hand at anyone who tries to unsettle stability in the West Bank.
The tension comes as the two Palestinian factions are scheduled to hold talks in Cairo on July 7th. The inter-Palestinian dialogue re-started in the Egyptian capital this February. Fatah and Hamas have since carried out five rounds of talks without a major breakthrough.
(CCTV June 1, 2009)
