Hamas Praises HH the Emir's Efforts, Says No Internal Disputes

Doha, February 18 (QNA) - Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that there are no internal conflicts over the Qatar-sponsored Palestinian reconciliation agreement that was recently signed. Hamas also stressed in exclusive comments to QNA that reports about internal disputes over the nomination of President Mahmoud Abbas to head the interim government are baseless and that Hamas signed the agreement because it believes the Palestinian division must come to an end. The movement thanked HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for his efforts that resulted in signing the agreement. It also praised the role of the Qatari diplomacy under the leadership of HH the Emir, who succeeded in overcoming the obstacles that hindered the agreement. Hamas figures said that the Qatari diplomacy is always capable of solving the issues it adopts thanks to the good relations it enjoys with all the regional and international sides. Commenting on the guarantees of the agreement's success, Hamas political advisor Ahmed Youssef said that the Arab revolutions have, undoubtedly, affected the political variables regionally and internally. "In the past, several secret hands whether Israel or the US tried to entrench the division and weaken the Palestinian case, and they found help and assistance from some of the Arab regimes," Youssef said. Youssef added that after five years of division, Palestinians understand that Israel is the only beneficiary of it, and that continuing this division weakens the Palestinians' hope in establishing an independent state based on 1967 borders. He also praised Qatar for its role in rebuilding southern Lebanon after the damage Israel caused, and its role in achieving the reconciliation in Sudan and Darfur. Youssef hailed the combined effort of Qatar and Egypt as two central countries and considered this effort as the guarantee to help make the Palestinian reconciliation like no previous agreements that failed to capitalize. (QNA)