Hamas seeks new date for Palestinian unity deal

A Hamas delegation met Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman yesterday to try to set a new date for the signing of a Palestinian unity deal, a member of the Islamist movement's team said.
"We have met General Omar Suleiman" but the results of the talks in Cairo will be announced later, Mohammed Nasr told AFP.
However, another Hamas official, Ezzat al-Rashq, told Al-Jazeera television that the movement could "not shake hands with (Palestinian leader Mahmud) Abbas at this point in time" to seal an Egyptian-mediated deal.
He called first for an apology from Abbas over the Goldstone report on the Gaza war last December-January.
The Hamas team led by exiled senior political leader Mussa Abu Marzuk travelled to Cairo to request "a new, appropriate date for the new session of inter-Palestinian dialogue," a Hamas spokesman in Gaza told AFP earlier.
"The atmosphere is not right for the signing of an accord," he said.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, has asked Egypt to delay the signing of the deal which Cairo as mediator had announced for later this month, a source within the Islamist group said on Wednesday.