Haniyeh 'must refuse NAM invite'

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has denounced an invitation by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, to participate in the Non Aligned Movement Summit to be held in Tehran. Fayyad said the invitation was a blow to one of the prominent achievements of the Palestinian people, which is "the unity of the Palestinian representation within the framework of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, the only legitimate and sole representative of Palestinian people. It also represents a serious escalation of Iran’s opposing position to the unity of the territory of occupied Palestine, and to the role of the Palestinian Authority in caring for the interests of the Palestinians in Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, mandated by the PLO".  Fayyad said in a statement: “Ismail Haniyeh’s response to this malicious Iranian invitation – if it happens – and through its dedication to the political division in the Palestinian scene, will not only be a stab in the side of the Palestinian national project, but cause terrible damage to the Palestinians' struggle for freedom with all its occupied territory since 1967, and restoring its rights according to international law." Fayyad added: “From this point, I appeal to brother Ismail Haniyeh to consider his patriotism over everything else. I think his initiative to refuse the invitation of the Iranian President will be recorded as a historic position that puts him the position of a responsible leader, striving for the higher interests of our people.” The summit of Non Aligned countries will be held in Tehran on Sunday, August 26.  This comes in a time when high level diplomatic sources revealed that the NAM summit hosted in the Iranian capital will adopt Egypt’s propsal before the Islamic Summit in Mecca about the Syrian crisis. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will participate to the Summit on August 30 with a Palestinian delegation which will attend the conference on August 26.