Palestinian movements upheld right of return

Palestinian leaders opposed to peace talks with Israel opened a conference in Damascus on Wednesday, stressing that the Palestinian Authority chief should not compromise on Palestinians' national rights.

Hundreds of delegates from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian groups attended the Damascus meeting.

"The goal is to solve the current state of Palestinian division through a comprehensive national dialogue that preserves unity," a communique issued by the conference said.

The conference also urged Palestinian peace negotiators not to yield to Israeli pressure to compromise on the fate of al-Quds and on the right of return for Palestinian refugees displaced in the 1948 war.

"No one has authorization to give up holy al-Quds, the refugees' right of return or any of the historic rights," the conference declaration said. "Resistance against the Zionist occupation is the main form of struggle to achieve liberation."

Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah also said splits between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah faction played into Israel's hands.

"We cannot talk about a strategy without achieving national reconciliation first. The struggle over power only relieves the Israelis of their responsibilities towards the people they occupy," Shallah told the delegates.

The conference had originally been scheduled for November, but was postponed after Syria decided to attend a US-sponsored conference at Annapolis.