Hamas, Fatah lawmakers put together petition urging faction reconciliation

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Several current and former lawmakers from Hamas and Fatah have said that they want to collect 100,000 signatures on a petition urging the rival factions to reconcile. The petition is to be launched Monday in Nablus. The document asks Hamas and Fatah to stop media attacks on each other, release political prisoners and organize a new round of reconciliation talks. Organizers hope to eventually gather 1 million signatures to present to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and to Hamas leaders. Relations between the groups fell apart after Hamas violently took over the Gaza Strip in 2007. Hamas pulled out of reconciliation talks last month, asking that the Palestinian Authority first release Hamas prisoners.