GAZA, June 5 (UPI) -- Five militant Palestinian groups have called for extending the period for internal dialogue which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said ends Monday.
The call was made by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, al-Saiqa and the Arab Liberation Front following a meeting Monday to discuss the developments of the inter-Palestinian talks which kicked off two weeks ago.
A joint statement said "we stress the need to ensure the success of the dialogue and secure the atmosphere that leads to such (a) result."
It also underscored the need to move the dialogue to Gaza, to enable the representatives of all Palestinian factions to take part, especially Hamas and Islamic Jihad which cannot participate in the sessions held in Ramallah, in the West Bank, due to security reasons.
The statement stressed as well "the importance of giving the dialogue enough chance through more discussion of a national consensus document which deals with important matters that need a longer period of time to be debated."
The five groups rejected as well the issue of placing up for referendum the document for national consensus drafted by senior prisoners from various factions held in Israeli jails.
"The idea of a referendum is politically dangerous, because it covers basic Palestinian principles and ignores two-thirds of the Palestinian people in the Diaspora," the statement said.
In a related development, Abbas dispatched former Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia to Damascus to seek Syrian help in ensuring the success of the dialogue.
Official Syrian News Agency SANA said Qureia handed Syrian President Bashar Assad a letter from Abbas on developments in the ongoing dialogue.
Qureia also met with Vice President Farouk Sharaa. A diplomatic source said he "carried a request from the Palestinian Authority to Syria about its help in securing the success of Palestinian dialogue, since Damascus hosts an effective party," in a clear reference to Hamas.
