Fatah officials are closely following reports emanating from Gaza which seem to indicate that high hamas terroristsranking Hamas officials support a temporary Palestinian Arab state within the area.

In an interview with the newspaper al Riyadh, Amin Makboul, Secretary General of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, said that Hamas's leaders have responded positively to the idea of setting up a temporary state in Gaza.

He mentioned that Fatah and its Chairman Mahmoud Abbas continue to dismiss any ideaof a Palestinian state with temporary borders, since this would solidify Israel'splan to isolate Gaza from the "West Bank" and strengthen the existing settlements there.

PalPress, a website associated with Fatah, reported yesterday that the Hamas government is preparing itself for implementation of its decision to declare a state, and has thus started to train diplomatic corps for positions abroad. The website also mentions that human rights activist, Eyad Serraj , has been involved in mediating between Israel and Hamas, and that the terrorist group's leaders plan to announce a long term ceasefire (hudna) with Israel prior to declaring statehood.

In a report on the Bethlehem-based Palestinian Arab Ma'an news agency, Serraj remarked that various Palestinian officials have warned that the failure to reach an agreement between Fatah and Hamas would lead to a temporary state being established in Gaza. He has been pushing for leaders of Fatah and Hamas to end the disputes which have divided Palestinian society.

via israelnn.com