Palestinian sources report that on November 12, Qatar and Syria persuaded the committee monitoring the Arab peace initiative not to accuse Hamas of thwarting the Palestinian reconciliation agreement, and asked to invite Hamas representatives to a committee meeting so that they could present their position.
The request was rejected by the Palestinian delegation led by Saeb 'Ereqat.
According to the sources, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad called, in a November 13 meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to advance efforts and to attain Palestinian reconciliation, primarily in light of the stagnation in Egyptian efforts in this matter.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, November 17, 2009
