Rice wants tension among Palestinians

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum

Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum has accused the US Secretary of State of trying to obstruct ongoing efforts for Palestinian unity.

Fawzi Barhoum said that the October visit by State Secretary Condoleezza Rice will aim at fomenting discord among Palestinians and preventing the formation of a new Palestinian unity government.

Washington seeks to prevent any accord between Palestinians, knowing that any such agreement is contrary to the interest of the US and its ally Israel, Barhoum added.

Palestinian groups, headed by the Hamas and Fatah movements, have been invited by Egypt to attend a meeting in Cairo in the first week of November to prepare their strategy to face the current crisis.

Rice is scheduled to visit the Middle East ahead of the Cairo meeting, in mid-October.

The spokesman said Rice is using every method available to prevent Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas from negotiating with the Hamas movement.

Tensions between Hamas and Fatah arose after Hamas' victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Following the elections, Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led government and appointed a Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Hamas responded by taking control of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas and Fatah have not held direct talks since then.