Talks between the Palestinian leadership and the main factions, which were due to have been held in Cairo this week, have been cancelled after the weekend suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, officials said Sunday. "There are many reasons, but one of them is the operation in Tel Aviv," Jibril Rajoub, a member of the national security council, said. "There has been a problem with Israel refusing to allow many delegations to travel to Egypt to take part in the dialogue. We need time to arrive at an agreement and reach a shared vision for a new program," he added.Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath confirmed that the meeting, scheduled to begin next Saturday, had been scrapped after the bombing claimed by Islamic Jihad. "The operation in Tel Aviv has made problems for us," he said. Rajoub had travelled to Cairo on Friday to prepare for the talks which had been expected to include leaders of groups such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as well as Islamic Jihad.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who declared a cease-fire earlier this month, is trying to persuade all the factions to call a permanent end to their campaigns of anti-Israeli attacks. Abbas was severely embarrassed by Friday's night bombing, especially as all the factions are meant to be observing an informal "quiet period." Shaath also said that, like Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, he had decided after the attack that he would not be able to attend a conference in London this week aimed at preparing the Palestinians for statehood.