No broker needed for Palestinian reconciliation

Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashaal said Friday Palestinians need not to have a broker to help them advance their national reconciliation process.

Mashaal made the remarks in Tunisia after meeting Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki.

The Hamas chief said Palestinians have not broken their ties and therefore would not need a broker to mend their relations.

"The train of national reconciliation has already been launched," he said.

Mashaal also said Hamas would not speak directly with Israel on the truce deal. “Direct negotiations with the Israeli occupier are not on the agenda of Hamas; if negotiations are necessary they must be indirect,” he said.

Mashaal also denied Friday that the movement was running a “shadow government” in Gaza as charged by the acting PA head Mahmoud Abbas.

 “There is a national unity government; talk of a parallel government is totally against reality,” Mashaal said.

He said government ministries were still operating normally in Gaza even if the government is absent from the coastal enclave.

“We welcome the government of national unity to work in Gaza, to take charge of crossing points and assume all its responsibilities in line with what we agreed upon.”