Hamas, factions reject U.S. sponsored three-way meeting

Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian factions rejected on Monday a three-way meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to be held in New York on Tuesday.

"Abu Mazen (Abbas) is not authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people. Any agreement or treaty he would reach with Netanyahu will not be binding on Hamas movement," Hamas said in a written statement sent to reporters, adding "the meeting will be a submission to the Zionists."

Earlier on Monday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the invitation of President Barack Obama to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly before holding a three-way meeting that will include Netanyahu.

"The Palestinians welcome the personal intervention of President Obama to save the peace process amid an Israeli intransigence and a rejection to completely freeze settlement construction and expansion and resume the talks on final status issues," said Erekat in a press statement sent to reporters.

The Palestinian and the Israeli leaders accepted Obama's invitation to hold the three-way meeting, following personal contacts held by President Obama with both Abbas and Netanyahu. Israel welcomed the meeting, but most of the Palestinians rejected it.

"The Palestinians support the resumption of the peace negotiations on the final status issues from the point where it stopped following Annapolis peace conference. Major issues like Jerusalem, settlements, borders, water, refugees and security must be addressed," said Erekat.

Hamas movement, which is the bitter rival of Fatah and fully controls the Gaza Strip since June 2007, said "this meeting is held as the Zionist entity (Israel) continues its crimes and siege against our people and insist on continuing settlement activities in Jerusalem and the West Bank."

However, Erekat said that "accepting to join the three-way meeting doesn't mean that the Palestinian leadership has yielded to the Israeli conditions or accepted the continuation of settlement activities in the West Bank. Israel should clearly announce a full cessation of settlement."

"Hamas movement looks at this meeting with suspension and was really shocked after Abbas accepted Obama's invitation to hold talks with Netanyahu. This means that Abbas has yielded to Israel and the U.S. and retreats from his stance," said Hamas.

The movement called on Abbas "to immediately stop his political rush and stop yielding to the Zionist dictations," adding "Abbas should first achieve unity among the Palestinians in order to confront the stubbornness of the Zionist entity and gain back the legitimate rights of our people."

"We also call on President Obama to reconsider its supportive policy towards Israel on the expense of the Palestinian legitimate rights and the Arabs' interests," said Hamas.

However, Erekat said "the Palestinian side is still committed to the two-state solution."

He vowed that the Palestinians want to see a Palestinian state established on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, and will be committed to the American-brokered Roadmap peace plan, adding "the two sides should equally be committed to the implementation the peace plan."

Meanwhile, other Palestinian factions joined Hamas rejection to the three-way meeting. The Popular Front to Liberate Palestine (PFLP) called on Abbas to reject the meeting until Israel official announces that it would completely stop settlement activities.

A PFLP spokesman said in a written statement sent to reporters that the Palestinian acceptance to join the three-way meeting "is a clear outcome of the American pressure on the Palestinian side which serves in the first place the Israeli and the U.S. interests."

"Holding such a meeting amid Netanyahu's government's rejection to the Palestinian, U.S. and international demands, and amid the continuation of the Israeli violations and siege and denying the legitimate rights of the Palestinians is a free gift to Netanyahu," said the PFLP spokesman in a statement.

Also the Democratic Front to Liberate Palestine (DFLP) joined the chorus, which announced that it addressed an urgent letter to President Abbas, calling him to withdraw from accepting to join the three-way meeting as long as Israel doesn't want to halt settlement activities.

"We call on Abbas that even if he joins the three-way meeting, he should not accept a final official statement that peace negotiations are to resume before the complete cessation of settlement activities and lifting the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip," said the DFLP in a statement sent to reporters.