The radical Islamic group Hamas on Sunday backed a decision by Palestinian leaders to suspend peace talks with Israel, if it continued settlement construction on occupied land.
Top Palestinian politicians on Saturday backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' demand to link peace talks to restrictions on Israeli settlement construction. The decision came after a meeting of the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Abbas' Fatah movement.
Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, said the decision was a step towards achieving national reconciliation.
Direct peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders resumed on September 2 in Washington after being stalled for 20 months. The talks, however, came under threat after the 10-month partial moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank expired on September 26, sparking fierce criticism from the Palestinians.
There are more than 400,000 Israelis living in some 120 settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory. Diplomats from the Middle East Quartet of international peace mediators have urged Israel to halt settlement building to save the peace talks.
GAZA, October 3 (RIA Novosti)
