The Palestinian Hamas movement on Sunday said it studies to suspend participation in inter-Palestinian dialogue following the killing of its two members by security forces of president Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
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Abu Obeida (C), a spokesman for Hamas's armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, holds a press conference in Gaza City, on May 31, 2009. Six people were killed on Sunday when forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raided a Hamas hideout, just days after Abbas promised in Washington to fulfill his security commitments. The violence erupted when police encircled a house in the West Bank town of Qalqilya where a top Hamas field commander and his deputy had taken refuge, witnesses and security officials said. [Xinhuanet.com]
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"We are now studying the suspension of our participation in the Cairo-hosted dialogue as part of the response to the assassination of two holy fighters in Qalqilya city in the West Bank," Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas spokesman, told reporters in Gaza.
Three policemen and a civilian were also killed in the armed clashes which broke off early Sunday between the two Hamas gunmen and the security forces.
Al-Bardaweel reiterated that what happened was "a plot the Palestinian (National) Authority (PNA) and Israel planned to end the resistance and uproot Hamas," in the West Bank, ruled by Abbas' Fatah party.
Since Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and seized control of Gaza in 2007, the two sides clamped down against their political opponents, Hamas supporters in the West Bank and Fatah members in Gaza.
However, the shootout in Qalqilya was the deadliest incident.
The tension comes as Palestinian factions are initially scheduled to sign a reconciliation deal in Cairo on July 7. Prior to this, Egypt would continue sponsoring efforts to bridge the gaps between Hamas and Fatah that are still failing to agree on a unity government.
