Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has firmly rejected recent efforts by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emerirates to bring about reconcialiation between him and exiled rival Mohammed Dahlan, according to a Sunday-evening report by Kol Yisrael government radio.
Speaking at a gathering in Ramallah, Abu-Mazen said, "Nobody will dictate their position to us. We are the ones who decide and nobody has authority over us." He did not mention Dahlan by name but said, "There are people operating in capital cities and pull these and those strings. It would be better for them to cut the strings. Otherwise we will cut them."