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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (file)
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| By Israel Insider staff September 5, 2007 |
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United Arab Emirates newspaper Al-Khaleej reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to meet with Hamas leaders on Thursday in a bid to reunite the warring Palestinian factions, according to the Journal of Turkish weekly.
"The Palestinian problem is still a gaping wound for the entire Islamic world and nations of the region," the Jerusalem Post quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "The only way to treat it is through the resistance of the Palestinian nation, along with faith, unity and an unwavering stance."
Hamas has recently called on Fatah to renew talks and repair relations that collapsed following Hamas' bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip in June. Fatah has since been trying to establish itself in the Judea and Samaria, with Israel's help, but reports say that Hamas is equally as strong as Fatah in the West Bank.
Among the meetings participants are Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) leader Nayef Hawatmeh, and the leader of the Syrian- backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Ahmed Jibril.
Also participating in the upcoming meeting is senior Fatah leader-in-exile Farouk Kadoumi, a rival of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, according to the report.
Kadoumi met with Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, according to Iran's Mehr news agency. The Iranian leader lauded the Palestinian organization for staying true to the path of "armed struggle," the report said.
Iran is known to provide a significant amount of funding to Hamas, a group that calls for the destruction of Israel and violent resistance against the Jewish state. Iran has also advocated "wiping Israel off the face of the map," joining the chorus of extremist voices against the country.
The United States and Israel, along with several European nations, advocate isolating Hamas using diplomatic and economic means in order to strengthen moderate forces in the region. However recent calls by some European leaders have begun to corrode the unified front against the terrorist group.
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