Abbas, Meshaal discuss tension with Israel over telephone

RAMALLAH (Xinhua) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas movement's chief Khaled Meshaal discussed early on Sunday the growing tension with Israel in the Palestinian territories, a senior Palestinian official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Abbas and Meshaal agreed in a telephone conversation to continue implementing their reconciliation understanding and agreement.

The official said the two men discussed the commitments of the unity government, which was sworn in before Abbas in Ramallah on June 2, and the lifting of blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The unity government was formed under an agreement reached between Abbas' Fatah Party and Hamas in April, but Hamas accused the new government of not fulfilling its commitments to Gaza.

The official said they also talked about the growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip over the past three weeks.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, dismissed as "exaggerated and untrue" media report that Hamas and Israel were close to reaching a calm agreement through mediators.

He said, in an e-mailed statement, that there were contacts through mediators that he did not name, to know Hamas position concerning the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

"In principle, neither Hamas nor the Palestinian factions are interested in escalating the situation with Israel," said Abu Zuhri, who accused Israel of trying to escalate tension in the coastal enclave.

He also called on Israel "to immediately stop its aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza, West bank and east Jerusalem."

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli media quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying that there were contacts to restore calmness in the Gaza Strip, and that he expected an agreement would be reached Sunday night.