Web site claims Hamas, Fatah in peace deal

DAKAR, Senegal, June 8 (UPI) -- An Israeli Web site claimed Sunday the Palestinian Authority and militant Islamic group Hamas have begun talks to repair their strained relations.

DEBKAfile.com, a Web site based in Jerusalem covering Israeli military affairs, cited unnamed sources saying Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the moderate Fatah faction, and Hamas leaders secretly opened peace negotiations Friday in Dakar at the end of the Organization of Islamic Conference summit.

The Web site said the talks were brokered by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and were aimed at diplomatically isolating Israel, freeing Hamas from its civil responsibilities of administering Gaza and allowing it to use advanced rockets and weaponry to step up its attacks on Israeli settlements.

DEBKAfile.com also claimed its sources contend the Fatah-Hamas peace talks were being aided by Egypt, and efforts by Cairo to negotiate a Gaza cease-fire between Israeli and Hamas were merely a stalling tactic to buy time for the Palestinian factions to patch up their differences and attack Israel with renewed vigor.