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Fatah denies deal with Hamas on UN statehood bid rallies in Gaza

20 September 2011 00:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Officials of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party denied Monday they had agreed with the Islamic Hamas movement not to hold rallies to back the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations, APA reports.

Abdallah Abu Samhadana, a senior Fatah official in Gaza, told Xinhua that Fatah leaders met with Hamas leaders in Gaza earlier Monday and urged them to allow the people to rally in the Gaza Strip on the day of the bid.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas headed to New York Sunday for the annual high-level session of the UN General Assembly and to submit a request to the Security Council for full membership of a Palestinian state established on the territories of 1967.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has officially announced that it opposes the bid and accused Abbas of making concessions over the stable rights of the Palestinian people, mainly the right of return.

Earlier Monday, Hamas said in an official leaflet emailed to reporters that it had reached a compromise with Fatah on rallying for the bid to the UN. It said that no rallies will be held either to support or to oppose the bid.

"In order to keep the field calm and not to enlarge the division among our people, it was agreed with Fatah leaders in Gaza not to arrange any rally to support or oppose the bid to the UN," said the leaflet.

Abu Samhadana denied that such an agreement was reached, adding that Fatah instead "asked Hamas rulers to let the population to go for various activities and back the endeavor of the Palestinian leadership to gain full membership in the UN."

The deposed government of Hamas denied that it decided to ban rallies and demonstrations in Gaza in support for the Palestinian bid for recognition of statehood in the UN.

However, Fatah leaders said following the meeting with Hamas leaders that rallies and demonstrations in Gaza on the day of the bid are banned.