Hamas: Egypt unrest may disrupt unity talks
Published yesterday (updated) 05/12/2012 20:01
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=545358

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Meetings to discuss Palestinian reconciliation depend
on stability in Egypt, a senior Hamas official said Wednesday.

Ahmad Yousef told Ma'an that unrest in Egypt could delay unity talks,
mediated by Egyptian officials, as Cairo will be preoccupied with internal
issues.

Islamists fought protesters outside the Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi's
palace on Wednesday amid a crisis over a draft constitution that has split
the country.

Israel's recent eight-day war on the Gaza Strip revitalized efforts for
national unity in Palestine, with Hamas and Fatah promising to release those
detained due to the political split. Fatah members who fled Gaza during
factional fighting in 2007 have started returning to the enclave.

Yousef, a former adviser to Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh, said reconciliation
talks were informal at this stage and official contacts have not yet been
made.

Exiled Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal is expected to make his first ever visit
to Gaza to attend celebrations for Hamas' 25th anniversary.

Yousef said Mashaal could arrive on Thursday or Friday.