21 January 2003

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

 Joint Communiqué

On the inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo

We have received from our brothers the Egyptian officials an invitation to take part in a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue to be hosted by Cairo on 22^nd January 2003 and we have welcomed this dialogue. But in the light of the fact that the invitation was limited to a number of factions in the Palestinian arena without including others especially from the alliance of Palestinian forces, which makes it a partial rather than a comprehensive dialogue, we told our brothers the Egyptian officials our insistence that the Palestinian dialogue should include all Palestinian forces.

We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad in Palestine, affirm our appreciation and respect of the Egyptian leadership and people and appreciate their efforts for the sake of organizing a Palestinian national dialogue. We would also like to affirm our insistence on comprehensive dialogue out of keenness on unity of the Palestinian arena. Comprehensive national dialogue primarily targets amalgamating all Palestinian forces in confrontation of the all-out Zionist aggression against our people and uniting stands of those forces on common grounds. Singling out certain forces from that dialogue would inevitably harm unity of the Palestinian arena, a matter that we seek to avoid.

We re-affirm our support of Palestinian national dialogue in its real comprehensive shape and we will be ready to participate in such a dialogue at any time. We would also like to confirm our insistence on resistance option in all circumstances.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Tuesday 21/1/2003