Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal on Friday urged the United Nations to draw up a "timetable" for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to end, Qatar state media said. They issued the appeal during talks in Doha, as fighting continues in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Qatar's state news agency QNA said. The two Palestinian leaders have been holding talks in Doha since Thursday, but little else has filtered out of their meetings which are hosted by Qatar, a key backer of Hamas.
Their discussions came after fighting in Gaza flared anew on Tuesday as Egyptian-brokered truce efforts collapsed.
Talks broke down with Israel insistent on its demand for security from rocket fire by Gaza militants, and Hamas defiant on its call for an end to eight years of Israeli blockade.
QNA said that Abbas and Meshaal discussed Israel's "aggression" on Gaza and underlined "the importance of acting at all levels in order to... lift Israel's blockade of Gaza".
They also agreed to request from the United Nations "a resolution that would define a timetable for the end of Israel's occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state".
The agency said Abbas would undertake the diplomatic steps necessary to seek such a resolution.
| Since Mashaal can't leave Qatar... |