DUBA
I (AFP) - Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday it was ready for an unconditional national dialogue to respond to a nine-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas is calling for a national meeting to counter the aggression," Mohammed Nazzal, a member of the group's politburo, told pan-Arab television Al-Arabiya.
Israel launched a ground invasion late on Saturday, pouring tanks and troops into the Hamas-controlled territory after a week of airstrikes, prompting many residents to flee their homes.
"We are ready to hold a meeting anywhere agreed upon without any conditions... The sole theme: how to counter the aggression because there is no time to talk about any other issue," Nazzal said. "This is not the time to discuss differences," he told the news channel.
Hamas broke ranks with President Mahmud Abbas's secular Fatah party in June 2007, staging a coup against the Palestinian Authority and taking control of the impoverished enclave after more than a week of deadly infighting. Efforts to reconcile the two Palestinian factions have so far foundered.