Palestinian factions look to agree on 'nature of state' in Cairo talks (UPDATE)
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The Associated Press Dec. 30, 2002
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CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt, a senior mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, will host a number of Palestinian factions at unity talks next week, an Egyptian official close to the talks said Monday.
"We want to invite the biggest number of factions possible to reach an agreement on the shape of the new Palestinian state," the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
He said the meeting was scheduled Sunday.
Egypt has been recently hosting talks with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement and other radical groups in an attempt to unify the Palestinian stance.
Hamas-Fatah talks that were held in Cairo in mid-November ended with no agreement on abandoning Hamas's suicide bombings, but the sides committed to keeping channels of communication open.
During the first round, an Egyptian official told the AP that Hamas had agreed to consider ending suicide attacks, but first wanted Israeli guarantees that it would stop targeted killings of suspected Palestinian militants.
Arafat told reporters in Ramallah Monday that the Cairo meeting is "very important."
"We are so grateful for these efforts for it will help peace in the region," he said.
In Syria Monday, visiting Palestine Liberation Organization envoy Farouk Kaddoumi, said the Cairo talks were aimed not at ending the Palestinian uprising but at "augmenting resistance so long as the Israeli occupation and terrorism are still on."
Kaddoumi, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's political department, is on a three-day visit for talks with Syrian officials and leaders of Damascus-based Palestinian factions that oppose negotiations with Israel.
Officials from other Palestinian groups, including the Damascus-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have also been shuttling to Egypt.
The Egyptian official said "all those who want to come are welcome."
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Nabil Shaath told the AP on Sunday that so far attending the meeting will be Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Liberation Front.
"The idea (of the Cairo meeting) was welcomed by everybody," he said.
Shaath said whatever is agreed to in the meeting will be codified in a "Cairo Declaration" aimed at reaching "a joint political program that everybody will be committed to and to give the Palestinian Authority the opportunity to negotiate with Israel for a cease-fire."
He said he had sensed in earlier meetings that Palestinian factions were ready for "harmony."
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