Fatah delegation meets with Haniyeh in Gaza

High-level Fatah officials meet in Strip with Hamas prime minister to discuss ways of ending rivalry between the two parties.

Fatah official Jibril Rajoub 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Fatah official Jibril Rajoub 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
A high-level Fatah delegation met Sunday in the Gaza Strip with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and discussed with him ways of ending the rivalry between the two parties.
Haniyeh said during the meeting that his government has taken a “strategic decision” to achieve reconciliation with Fatah.
He pointed out that Hamas has taken several initiatives and initiatives to create a “positive climate” for reconciliation.
Haniyeh asked the Fatah officials – Nabil Sha’ath, Sakher Bsaisso, Mohamed al-Madani, and Jamal Muhaissen – to relay a message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about the need to reciprocate with similar measures in the West Bank.
Haniyeh complained about the continued PA crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank and security coordination between the PA security forces and the IDF.
He said that these measures do not contribute to the creation of a suitable atmosphere for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
The Hamas leader also handed the Fatah delegation a list of Fatah members who would be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip.
Referring to the current peace talks between the PA and Israel, Haniyeh told the delegation that Hamas opposes US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals for a deal between the two sides. He said the proposals would not achieve the Palestinians’ rights.
Sha’ath and Hamas representative Khalil Hayeh told reporters that the two parties agreed to pursue efforts to end their differences.
Sha’ath praised Hamas for taking real measures on the ground toward ending the crisis, including permitting senior Fatah officials to return to the Gaza Strip.
He said that the coming days would witness additional and positive steps to implement previous reconciliation agreements between Fatah and Hamas.
Sha’ath reiterated Fatah’s stance that there could be no Palestinian state without the Gaza Strip.