Hamas, Fatah to meet in Cairo for unity talks

Abbas is scheduled to visit Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi aimed at ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas at the UN 390 (photo credit: Screenshot Al Jazeera)
Abbas at the UN 390
(photo credit: Screenshot Al Jazeera)
Representatives of Hamas and Fatah are scheduled to hold talks in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the formation of a Palestinian unity government.
Diab al-Louh, a top Fatah official, said that the two parties would discuss the names of candidates who would serve as ministers in a unity government that would be headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Last year, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement in Doha, Qatar, to form a unity government that would pave the way for new presidential and parliamentary elections. The agreement stipulates that Abbas would serve as prime minister in addition to his job as PA president.
Abbas is scheduled to visit Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi aimed at ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute.
Reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah were suspended on the eve of US President Barack Obama’s visit to the region in March.
The resignation of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad last month has paved the way for the resumption of the unity talks between the two rival parties.
At the request of Abbas, Fayyad continues to serve as prime minister of a caretaker government.
Fatah is hoping that Hamas would agree to join a unity government that would prepare for long-overdue presidential and parliamentary elections.
The renewed “reconciliation” talks between Hamas and Fatah come amid increased tensions between the two sides, particularly following the visit of a top Islamic scholar – Egypt’s Yusuf al-Qaradawi – to the Gaza Strip last week.
The PA leadership condemned the visit, arguing it would “legitimize” Hamas’s rule over the Gaza Strip. The PA has also called on the international community to confiscate a Palestinian diplomatic passport that was granted to Qaradawi by Hamas on the pretext that it was “forged.”
Amal Hamad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee from Gaza, said on Monday that Hamas was not serious about achieving reconciliation with Fatah.
“Hamas is interested in maintaining its Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip,” she charged.
“Hamas does not want to end the conflict with Fatah.”
Hamad also accused the Islamist organization of cracking down on Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip, noting that more than 30 activists have been summoned for interrogation in the past 24 hours.