Palestinian Groups Agree to Form Intra-Palestinian Reconciliation Committee
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met for rare face-to-face talks on Sunday in the coastal city of El Alamein, Egypt, along with representatives of most Palestinian political factions.
The latest attempt at reconciliation aims to bridge the gap between the parallel governments of Hamas in the blockaded Gaza Strip and of the Palestinian Authority – controlled by Abbas’s Fatah movement – which administers Palestinian-run areas of the occupied West Bank.
“I consider today’s meeting of the general secretaries of the Palestinian factions a first and important step in continuing our dialogue, which we hope will achieve the desired goals as soon as possible,” Abbas said in a statement after the meeting.
The 87-year-old president announced “the formation of a committee to continue the dialogue … end divisions and achieve Palestinian national unity”.
“We must return to a single state, a single system, a single law and a single legitimate army,” Abbas added.
Earlier on Sunday, Haniyeh called on Abbas to end security collaboration with the Israeli regime and “political arrests”, according to participants at the meeting.
The Hamas leader also said “a new, inclusive parliament must be formed on the basis of free democratic elections”.
Source: Al Jazeera
