Palestinians 'ready for reconciliation'

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday the rift between Fatah and arch-rival Hamas must end. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, meanwhile, said the time was right for reconciliation.

Abbas was in the Syrian capital for a two-day visit to brief the Syrian leadership, which holds enormous sway with Damascus-based Palestinian groups including Hamas, on Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

"No one is happy to see the current divisions continuing," Abbas told reporters in Damascus following a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad. "No one would ever respect us if we go on," he added.

He said upon his arrival in Syria Saturday that Egyptian mediation had reached an advanced stage. He added there will be a declaration in Cairo followed by a meeting with all Palestinian factions, but did not give details.

Mashaal seemed to echo those views on Sunday, saying the Egyptian mediation has achieved results. "We have reached a formula (for reconciliation) and we ask God to give it success," he said. Mashaal spoke at a conference on Jerusalem in Doha, Qatar.

He suggested that Fatah and Hamas release all political prisoners in Gaza and the West Bank and halt media campaigns meant to undermine each other to provide a "positive atmosphere" for Palestinian reconciliation.

Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since the latter's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Following the takeover, Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led government from his base in the West Bank and formed a new administration excluding the more radical group.

Mashaal accused the United States of obstructing past efforts at reconciliation by the Palestinian groups. He said the time is now right for reconciliation because the Americans and Israelis were busy with their own internal problems. "This is an opportunity God has given us," he said.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Abbas-Assad meeting was "very positive," adding that Abbas called on Assad to assist in helping end the Palestinian rift.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who attended the meeting, said Syria backs Egypt's efforts to achieve a Palestinian reconciliation and wishes to help.

Abbas is on a two-day visit to Syria as part of a three-nation tour that has taken him to Jordan and will take him to the United Arab Emirates. Despite the apparent progress made in Egypt, he will not meet with Hamas officials during his Syria visit.