WASHINGTON (JTA) — Fatah and Hamas suspended unity talks for three weeks to consider new proposals.
"There are new creative proposals and each movement needs to consult its leadership," senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath told AFP, the French news service, on Thursday. "We decided to resume the negotiations at a later date, sometime between April 21 and 26."
This week’s Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo were the third round of meetings since Hamas militarily took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
The goal is for Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas to form a transitional government to prepare for elections in 2010.
One stumbling block has been Hamas’ insistence that it would not abide by previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
