Fatah official urges actions paving the way for dialogue with Hamas

An official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement on Monday called for applying measures on the ground to pave the way for talks between his movement and rival Hamas. "There should be measures to facilitate the dialogue," said Maher Helles, a Gaza-based Fatah leader. The most important measures were stopping incitement on the media and detentions the two sides commit, he added. "Halting these measures will pave the way for looking for new mechanism to translate President Abbas' initiative into action," Helles continued. Last week, Abbas said he is ready to talk to Hamas which routed his forces and ousted Fatah from Gaza Strip a year ago. Hamas, which rules Gaza Strip since then, welcomed Abbas' call. Political division between Gaza Strip and West Bank, which boosted when Hamas took over Gaza, "harmed the... [read full story]