Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction has rejected a request by Hamas rivals to meet separately ahead of multi-factional reconciliation talks next month in Cairo, Fatah officials said on Tuesday. "Hamas has tried to change the Egyptian plan by requesting a bilateral meeting with Fatah which excludes the other 11 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions," a senior Fatah official told Reuters by telephone from Amman. "We adhere to the Egyptian plan which calls for a meeting of all the factions," the official said. "We don't object to holding a bilateral meeting with Hamas after the comprehensive meeting taking place." Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Fatah's decision not to hold bilateral talks with the group was a blow to Egypt's efforts to broker a unity deal between the rival groups. "Fatah bears responsibility for any faltering of Arab efforts to reconcile the Palestinian factions," Abu Zuhri said.
Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has held a series of separate talks with all Palestinian factions to heal the rift between Hamas and the PLO. Abbas has not sanctioned any meeting between his Fatah group and Hamas and has insisted that such meetings would only take place after Hamas cedes control of Gaza, officials said.