News / Palestine

Palestinians to meet in Cairo to advance unity deal

Sunday, 19 November 2017 2:19 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 19 November 2017 2:37 PM ]

A Palestinian man waves the flags of Egypt and Palestine as people gather in Gaza City to celebrate after rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement on ending a decade-long split following talks mediated by Egypt on October 12, 2017. (AFP photo)

Some 13 Palestinian factions are to attend a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss steps that could consolidate a recent major reconciliation deal.

Sources from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the entity that dominates the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, said Sunday that talks will open in Cairo on Tuesday and could last for two days.

Wasel Abu Yousef, a senior PLO official, said 13 delegations representing almost all Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, will attend the talks, which come more than a month after the PA reached an agreement with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas to establish a unity government in the Palestinian territories.

Under the October 12 reconciliation deal, which was brokered by Egypt, Hamas agreed to cede civilian control of Gaza to the PA. Hamas stuck to a November 1 deadline to allow the PA to take control of Gaza’s border crossings with Egypt and the occupied Palestinian territories. The resistance movement has until December 1 to hand over full civilian administration to the PA.

(L to R) Hamas' Saleh al-Aruri, Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar, Khaled Fawzi, head of the Egyptian Intelligence services, Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah delegation for the talks, and Fatah's Rawhi Fattouh are pictured following the signing of a reconciliation deal at the Egyptian intelligence services headquarters in Cairo on October 12, 2017, as the two rival Palestinian movements ended their decade-long split following negotiations overseen by Egypt. (AFP photo)

Hamas has been ruling Gaza since 2007, a year after it surprised Abbas’ Fattah party in general elections. The territory has been suffering from two Israeli wars and a crippling siege since then. The PA has exacerbated the plight of the Gazans by reducing electricity to the relatively-small, but heavily-populated enclave. Some PA officials have hinted that restrictions could ease if Hamas gives up its arms.

However, Hamas rejected claims that the resistance movement would discuss giving up its weapons, something demanded for years by the Israeli regime and the United States. Officials within the group said the Cairo meeting would focus on societal reconciliation, security, forming a potential unity government, elections.

“I think no Palestinian here can accept this model as a model for the security we are looking for," Bassem Naim, a top Hamas official, said, adding that talks in Cairo will be focused on “how to achieve practical steps in the reconciliation process, mainly in the civil sector, government, ministers”.

Abu Yousef of the PLO also hailed the talks as a major opportunity to bridge gaps between Hamas and the PA.

“I think this meeting will be a huge step towards the removal of all the obstacles to reconciliation, which is supported by everyone,” he said.

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