Amman - A group of Arab lawmakers discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday the prospects of starting a dialogue between his Fatah group and the radical Hamas movement and decided to set up a joint panel to follow up the issue. "The meeting decided to set up a committee and assigned it the duty of looking into means for reaching a solution to the Palestinian impasse," said Mohammad al-Saqr, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament set up by the Arab League in 2005.
The panel, which includes two members of the Arab Parliament and Azzam al-Ahmad, a leading member of Fatah, "will meet in Amman later in the day to follow up the discussion" conducted with Abbas and a number of Fatah leaders, he said.
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) has stated his viewpoint and expressed readiness to cooperate with the panel, but what happened in Gaza is not an easy issue," he added.
Al-Saqr was referring to Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip nearly three weeks ago when the radical movement drove out Fatah's forces from the territory by force.
Abbas has so far excluded the possibility of opening dialogue with Hamas before it restores the former situation in the Gaza Strip.
"There are demands from the two sides and we will be seeking details. We will hold several meetings next week until we reach a solution," al-Saqr said.
"The wound is very deep and needs time for healing," he added, alluding to the wide gap between the attitudes of Fatah and Hamas, which have rival administrations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip respectively.
The Arab parliament, which includes a number of Arab lawmakers representing various Arab chambers, held a meeting in Damascus last week with Hamas' politburo chief Khaled Meshaal, who expressed readiness for reconciliation, al-Saqr said.
He said he intended to relay to Fatah representatives Meshaal's viewpoint during the committee's meeting later in the day: "What happens in today's meeting will decide the next steps."
