Deposed prime minister of Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Haneya revealed on Wednesday that the latest round of inter-Palestinian dialogue held in Cairo on June 28 between Fatah and Hamas negotiators "was difficult and tensed."

Leaders of the two groups said earlier they had failed to finalize unresolved issues and disagreed on drafting the final agreement that is expected to be signed in Cairo on July 7. The Egyptian mediators informed the conferees to get back to Cairo on July 25 and that the final deal will be signed on July 28.

"Fatah movement's stubbornness was the major reason (for not reaching an agreement on time)," said Haneya in Gaza.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Abbas said earlier he was sorry for the failure of the latest round of reconciliation talks between his Fatah party and Hamas movement. Abbas implicitly criticized Hamas for "fortifying behind factional interests that impose commitments harming the national interest."

But Haneya said "the last round of talks was tensed and difficult because our brothers in Fatah movement are still tied to the American and Israeli conditions as well as to the security commitments with the (Israeli) occupation, mainly stopping the political-motivated arrests in the West Bank."

"We express regret for not accomplishing the deal to end the split and restore the unity in the sixth round of talks," Abbas said in a written statement sent to the media. The statement added that Abbas ordered Fatah envoys to the dialogue to be very flexible and to work hard on overcoming any obstacle.

Egypt has been trying to get Hamas and Fatah to agree on forming a unified government to replace Hamas' administration in the Gaza Strip and the Western-backed government that Abbas formed in the West Bank.

But as a result of Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, obstacles emerged on the way of the dialogue, such as which party that will be in control of the security services in Gaza and the West Bank.

Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah delegation to the national dialogue, Wednesday called on Egypt to "expose the party that blocks reaching an agreement" if the final round, due to start on July 25, fails," adding that the upcoming round of dialogue "would be the last chance to reconcile."

But Azzam al-Ahmad, chief of Fatah delegation to Cairo dialogue said Palestinian rivals have made progress on most of outstanding issues in their reconciliation talks, but differences on drafting an agreement form inspired Egyptian mediators to postpone the dialogue to July 25.

Hamas and Fatah made progress on the issues of elections, the formation of a factional committee to oversee the situation in Gaza and the deployment of joint forces in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to al-Ahmad.

"Differences in sketching these issues prevented a solution and that's why the mediators postponed the talks," al-Ahmad explained.

Hamas accused Fatah of rejecting all the formulations suggested by the committee of ending political arrests, adding that "accordingly, Fatah just wanted to implement the merits for the Zionist occupation and the so-called the world community."

But, Faisal Abu Shahla, a Fatah lawmaker in Gaza defended his movement's stance and said "the debates in Cairo had mainly focused on Gaza joint security forces and the system of the upcoming elections, adding "Unfortunately, Hamas still rejects all the proposals related to the two issues."

He added that the issue of political arrests "is not a big deal to obstruct the dialogue and be the reason for delaying reaching an agreement and it can be easily resolved. Arrests are not only taking place in the West Bank, it also goes on against Fatah members in the Gaza Strip."

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)