Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (left) and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2006. Palestinian media said talks between the factions aimed to forge unity between Abbas’s Fatah faction, which predominantly rules in Palestinian-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, and the Gaza Strip-based terrorist group. AHMAD KHATEIB/FLASH90.
Palestinian factions kicked off discussions in Egypt on Sunday regarding reconciliation efforts under the Chairmanship of Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.
According to the P.A.’s Wafa, news agency, the one-day talks taking place in the Mediterranean coastal city of El-Alamein were to be focused on “the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, and ways to restore national unity and end the division in light of the great challenges facing the Palestinian cause aimed at liquidating the Palestinian national project.”
“The meeting included Hamas terror master Ismail Haniyeh, but was boycotted by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in protest against the P.A.’s detention of its members,” said PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhala.
Abbas’ Fatah terror group, based in Ramallah, and the Hamas terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip, have been split since 2007 following a violent takeover of Gaza by Hamas. There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts at bringing the two factions together.
The Palestinian Authority leader is scheduled to meet on Monday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Last week, Abbas and Haniyeh held a joint, closed-door meeting in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to the Turkish leader’s office.
Erdoğan said that ongoing divisions among the Palestinian leadership were playing into the hands of those “who want to undermine peace.”
Since violently seizing control of the Gaza Strip from the P.A. in 2007, Hamas and Fatah have been locked in a Palestinian version of a Cold War. The P.A.—with the quiet support of Israel, the U.S. and other allies—has worked to root out any attempts by Hamas to undermine or overthrow its control in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria.
“At the same time, Hamas, which has survived a maritime blockade, international isolation, multiple wars with Israel and pressure from other Islamic terrorist groups in Gaza, has continued to see itself as the sole leader of the Palestinian cause with the goal of destroying Israel,” said JNS.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
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