Reconciliation talks for Fatah, Hamas stall once again
Ziad al-Thatha, a senior Hamas official, said that the talks with Fatah would continue in the future to discuss a number of “thorny” issues.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHUpdated: MARCH 29, 2016 02:10Moussa Abu Marzouk (right) talks with Fatah official and delegation leader Azzam Ahmed(photo credit: REUTERS)
Another round of “reconciliation” talks between Hamas and Fatah ended in Qatar on Monday without agreement on the formation of a Palestinian unity government and other points of differences between the two sides.The only agreement the two sides reached was to refrain from talking to the media about the negotiations.Last month, representatives of the two rival Palestinian parties met in Qatar in yet another bid to end their dispute.However, the talks failed to achieve any results.Ziad al-Thatha, a senior Hamas official, said that the talks with Fatah would continue in the future to discuss a number of “thorny” issues.He pointed out that these issues include the political program of the proposed unity government, and the status of Hamas civil servants who have not received salaries for several months. Hamas insists that its civil servants in the Gaza Strip be paid by the unity government – a demand that has been rejected by Fatah.Al-Thatha said that the Fatah delegation to the talks in Doha, which is headed by Azzam al-Ahmed and Sakher Bsaisso, will head back to Ramallah for consultations with their leaders about these issues. “We hope that Fatah is serious in ending the division,” he said, referring to the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Fatah.“We hope that [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas will comply with the demands of the Palestinians, and agree to partnership [with Hamas] in order to end the division.”Earlier, a senior Fatah official, Muhammad Shtayyeh, voiced optimism regarding ending the dispute with Hamas. He said that the Fatah negotiators who traveled to Qatar were authorized to reach agreement with Hamas about the formation of a unity government and holding long overdue presidential and parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.Shtayyeh claimed that the two sides did reach an agreement on these issues during their talks in Doha over the past two days.He said that with regard to the political program of the unity government, Fatah continues to insist that it be based on the agenda of the PLO and Abbas. Shtayyeh said that this was required to avoid a boycott of the government by the international community.
