Meshaal [THE LEADER OF THE HAMAS GOVERNMENT I EXILE LOCATED IN SYRIA] had said Hamas was willing to give "an additional chance" to the peace process always opposed by his group, which is deeply hostile to Israel and has routinely declared negotiations a waste of time.
Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a senior figure in the Gaza administration, said the comments had surprised the entire Hamas movement and contradicted its strategy based on armed conflict with Israel.
Meshaal was speaking in Cairo at a ceremony to launch the reconciliation agreement with the Fatah movement headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization that opened peace talks with Israel in 1993.
... Zahar said Hamas had never backed negotiations nor did it support anyone else negotiating on behalf of the Palestinians.
Though decisions within Hamas are supposed to be taken through consensus, Meshaal's influence is seen as overwhelming. He is seen as the channel for the political and material backing the group receives from Syria and Iran.
Experts on Hamas believe current tensions stem from the exiled leadership's surprise decision to forge the reconciliation agreement with Fatah without proper consultation with the Gaza leadership.
The unity agreement is seen as the Palestinians' response to the popular uprisings that swept former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power in February and have challenged the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Meshaal's host since 2001.
Analysts say Hamas appeared to see reconciliation with Fatah as a way of allowing the group to build ties with Egypt's new rulers, reducing the risk of its reliance on Syria as Assad faced unprecedented mass protests.
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