Gaza  - The radical Palestinian Hamas movement said Saturday it will freeze talks on freeing a captive Israeli soldier until Egypt, which is mediating the prisoner swap with Israel, releases a Hamas militant it is holding.

"We put the case of Gilad Shalit in the refrigerator and it will remain frozen until Ayman Nofal is released from the Egyptian jail," said Yousef Farhat, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip.

Cairo - Egyptian authorities made an exception late Thursday and opened the Rafah crossing to allow Palestinian patients coming from Egyptian hospitals to cross the border into the Gaza strip, according to sources.

A source at the crossing told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that "32 Palestinian patients and their attendants crossed the Rafah border Thursday evening."

Gaza- The implementation of an Egyptian plan for reconciliation between the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and the rival Fatah movement would take at least six months, according to top leader Hamas Mahmoud al-Zahar on Saturday.

"On October 25, Egypt will call for a three-way meeting between Fatah and Hamas. We agreed in principle with the Egyptians to end the Palestinian political split within six to nine months," said al-Zahar.

Gaza - A senior Fatah movement official on Saturday welcomed the acceptance by the Islamic movement Hamas of Egypt's plan for inter-Palestinian reconciliation that would end the current political split.

"The Egyptians have officially informed me personally that Hamas accepted their plan. This news pleased me and pleased President Mahmoud Abbas," said Nabil Shaath, head of Fatah delegation to the dialogue with Hamas in Cairo.

Gaza City - The Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament passed a resolution Monday, saying the radical Islamic movement ruling Gaza will no longer recognize Mahmoud Abbas as the legitimate Palestini

Gaza - The radical Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday rejected efforts to hold early legislative elections.

"We reject discussing the idea of holding early legislative elections because it will be an over-jump to the will of the Palestinian people and a replacement of the legally elected leaders through abnormal circumstances," said Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas leader.