Palestinians to discuss French peace initiative, unity gov't: official

The Palestinian authority is to convene on Thursday to discuss crucial issues, including the French initiative for peace in the Middle East, an official announced Wednesday.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, said the meeting in Ramallah will "discuss crucial issues, mainly the French initiative for peace in the Middle east, the endless Israeli violations against the Palestinians and the resumption of the Palestinian dialogue on ending the internal split."

Ashrawi said that the Palestinian side is seeking a real interpretation of the French initiative for holding an international peace conference to resolve decades of conflicts with Israelis.

"If the United States doesn't want to stop playing the role of the blind support to Israel, we believe that there should be another active body of other countries, like Europe who can play a more active role that the U.S. one," she said.

Meanwhile, leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party are to meet in Qatar on Sunday for the resumption of their reconciliation dialogue, according to another PLO official.

The talks will mainly cover the formation of a broader unity government that prepares for holding the general Palestinian elections in the Palestinian territories in three months upon approval.

The last presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2005 and 2006 respectively, but due to severe disputes between Hamas and Fatah, the Palestinian democratic process was delayed.

The internal Palestinian split between Gaza, ruled by Hamas, and the West Bank, ruled by Fatah and Abbas, started when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 and routed Abbas security forces. Endit