Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party leaders in the rival Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday expressed fear that Hamas would ban their travel to the West Bank to join Fatah's upcoming sixth General Assembly.

Gaza Fatah lawmaker Faisal Abu Shahla said whether Fatah leaders could attend the Fatah conference slated for August 4 in Bethlehem "is still in doubt as Hamas movement hasn't clearly announced that it would let Gaza conference members leave Gaza."

Abu Shahla warned of Hamas interference by banning Gaza members of the General Assembly from traveling, adding "this would be a serious unprecedented action that would harm the national Palestinian ties and would negatively affect the efforts to reach a general reconciliation."

It would be the first time for the conference to be held in the Palestinian territories and it aims to elect a new leadership of the dominant movement in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The latest General Assembly of Fatah movement was held in Tunis in 1989.

Fatah officials said 1,550 members would join the conference, 400 of whom are from the Gaza Strip, which was seized by Hamas movement in June 2007 following a weeklong of bloody infighting.

President Abbas and Fatah leaders have asked for Egypt's mediation to press Hamas to allow the 400 Gaza Fatah General Assembly members to attend the conference. Hamas has not announcedits official stance yet.

However, several Hamas leaders have expressed readiness to grant permission to Fatah members to leave the besieged Gaza Stripto attend the Bethlehem conference.

Salah el-Bardawil, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, revealed his movement received an official Egyptian request to allow Fatah leaders to leave Gaza, adding that Hamas has promised Egypt that the request would be seriously studied and response would be made later.

"Hamas movement will study each case of the conference members separately, bearing in mind political and security considerations," al-Bardawil said.

Asked if that means Hamas would give permission to only part of the General Assembly members, he said "our final decision will be announced within the coming few days."

He, however, accused Fatah movement "which has deep internal disputes" of trying to hold Hamas movement responsible for obstructing holding its general conference in the West Bank.

The families of Hamas members imprisoned in jails in the West Bank where Fatah holds sway have called on Hamas not to permit Gaza Fatah leaders to head for the conference before Abbas's security forces free around 800 Hamas prisoners.

Meanwhile, a Fatah official considered Hamas's position as "a rejected attempt to blackmail Fatah to gain political achievements," noting that "Egypt is following up the whole issue with Hamas."

"In case Hamas bans Gaza members from leaving, the General Assembly of Fatah won't be held," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding "Hamas should allow all Fatah members to attend the conference."

A few weeks ago, Hamas prevented the members of Fatah revolutionary council from leaving Gaza to the West Bank. Hamas security forces also impose restrictions on the movements of top Fatah leaders and members inside the Gaza Strip.

Feuds between the two rival groups have mounted fueled by mutual arrests against each other's members in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Egypt, which has been brokering for Palestinian reconciliation, had set July 7 as the deadline for Fatah and Hamas to sign a national unity agreement. However, the date was put off to August 25"to give a better opportunity for more consultations and debates."

Meanwhile, Palestinian National Authority (PNA) officials revealed that the PNA has asked Israel to allow hundreds of Fatah movement General Assembly members coming from other Arab and foreign countries to enter the West Bank to attend the conference.

Abbas hopes that it would renovate his secular movement through holding the Fatah General Assembly, which has suffered weakness over the past two decades due to internal power sharing disputes.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2009)