Middle East Desk
Report
GAZA: The two Palestinian rival groups, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and Islamic Hamas movement, agreed to resume meetings to end the internal division.
Ahmad Helles, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, and Husam Badran, a member of Hamas politburo, made this announcement in a joint interview aired on the state-run Palestine television. “The resumption of meetings between Fatah and Hamas has given our people a new hope for ending the internal division that has been going on for 13 years, so as to face the current political and economic challenges,” said Helles.
Last week, Jibril al-Rajoub, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, and Saleh Arouri, deputy chief of Hamas politburo, began an online dialogue aired on Palestine television. “The internal Palestinian division can never be considered the real permanent image of the Palestinian people. The real image is the unity to face all dangers that surround the Palestinian cause,” said Helles.
During the joint online interview, Badran revealed that the two factions are maintaining daily contact and seeking to work jointly in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and abroad to confront the Israeli annexation plan.
He said Hamas is ready t reach a national agreement, including the types of struggle and resistance against the Israeli annexation plan. The internal Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over Gaza from Fatah.
Arab and international mediations between the two rival factions have so far failed, although they signed a series of understandings and agreements on internal unity.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it could begin the annexation process in July, including annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. It is still unclear whether the Israeli government intends to follow through with plans to impose Israeli law on disputed territories in the West Bank and to what extent. For all practical purposes, Israel had annexed all of Area C some 60% of the West Bank, where the hundreds of Israeli settlements have been placed decades ago.
