Palestinians adjourn talks as joint force idea collapses

CAIRO (AFP) - Hopes of a breakthrough in Palestinian reconciliation talks were dashed on Monday when Fatah and Hamas each rejected the others terms for a joint security force.
Instead the rival factions adjourned their fifth round of discussions in Cairo with a number of stumbling blocks still remaining.
No date was announced for the next round of negotiations but Egypt, the sponsor of the talks, has set a target date of July 7 for the signing of an agreement, senior Fatah official Zakaria al-Agha told AFP.
On the other side US President Barack Obama on Monday renewed his call for a Palestinian state after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
I believe it is in the interest not only of the Palestinians but also the Israelis and the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution, Obama said after the Oval Office talks. He said Israeli settlements must be 'stopped
The meetings between representatives of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbass Fatah party and the Hamas movement are aimed at healing bitter divisions between the two since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Fatah wants to see the Hamas security force in Gaza replaced with a joint force of 10,000 to 15,000 personnel overseeing all aspects of security in the tiny territory, Agha said.
Egypts state news agency MENA on Sunday cited senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath as saying Fatah and Hamas had agreed to form a joint force in Gaza and hoped to announce a definitive reconciliation deal at the start of July.
But Agha said on Monday that Hamas wanted to keep its own forces on the ground and set up a joint force of 300 to oversee only the borders.
Hamas rejected the idea of a joint Palestinian force in Gaza unless it also operated in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Salah al-Bardawil, spokesman for Hamass parliamentary bloc, said in Gaza City that any agreement on the formation of a new security force as part of the Cairo talks would have to apply to all the Palestinian territories.
Fatahs Agha said another hurdle in the reconciliation efforts is the proposed role of a Cairo-proposed committee that would coordinate between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank.
Hamas wants the committee to coordinate between the two governments, he said, adding that his group rejected the idea of two governments.
There is only one government and we believe this committee should coordinate between that government and Hamas in Gaza as well as NGOs in the strip, he said.
Agreement between the two Palestinian factions is vital for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, devasted by Israels 22-day offensive in December and January that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians.
International donor countries pledged 4.5 billion dollars in reconstruction aid to Gaza at a conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in March.
But many donor countries refuse to channel their funds via Hamas, insisting Abbass Palestinian government must supervise the spending.
Hamas emerged victorious from Palestinian elections in 2006 but Israel and the international community have refused to have any dealings with a government including the group, which is pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.