Hamas Not after PLO Substitute

Source: Alalam.ir, 15-2-2008
DAMASCUS--Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal says the Palestinian groups' recent meeting held in Damascus and similar gatherings should not be read as attempts to replace the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Speaking to Alalam Thursday, the Damascus-based Hamas leader said: "The Damascus meeting was aimed at filling the vacuum and making up for shortcomings in order to pave the way for establishment of an authority under a national agreement in Palestine."
The PLO is chaired by the Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas.
The Hamas official said: "We do not seek to cause divisions nor do we try to replace an authority; and this is not because we are unable to do that, but the situation for reconstruction of the PLO is not suitable yet and we do not want to complicate it further."
"Unfortunately some elements with leverage in the PLO do not let the Cairo Statement be enforced, because they just want to take advantage of the organization for their own benefits," Meshaal said.
He noted that most of Arab states do not interact with the organization seriously "which further deteriorates the situation."
The high-ranking official also said: "The Palestinian Authority is not considered a political structure for Palestinians inside the territory and abroad and the elements influencing the PLO are to blame for that."
"We are trying to solve the PLO problem and send the international community as well as the US and the Zionists the message that the issue of Palestine which you try to eliminate is not limited only to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, but includes the whole Palestinian territory," he said.