Fatah delegation to visit Cairo to resolve conflict with Hamas

CAIRO – 13 September 2017: A delegation of the Palestinian nationalist political party, Fatah, will visit Cairo on Friday to hold discussions on resolving the Fatah-Hamas conflict in order to accomplish the Palestinian compromise.

The delegation includes member of the central committee Azzam Al-Ahmad, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hassan el-Sheikh, and Fatah authorizer of international relations Rawhi Fatouh.

Earlier, on Friday, Islamic Jihad Movement had organized a march in Gaza, calling on Egypt to resume reconciliation efforts.

Islamic Jihad Movement’s leader Khalid al-Batsh gave a speech, announcing six demands from the concerned parties to resume the mediation between Fatah and Hamas.

The marches condemned the attacks of the Zionists against the country and the sacred, the cruel siege on the resisters in Gaza, sanctions, condemnation of the merciless punishments, the repetition of the national unity, consolidation of the internal front and raising the public interest.

The Fatah–Hamas conflict is a Palestinian civil war between the two main Palestinian political parties, Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the split of the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

The reconciliation process and unification of the Hamas and Fatah administrations has not been finalized since September 2015.

The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights has found that over 600 Palestinians were killed in the fighting from January 2006 to May 2007. Dozens more were killed or executed in the following years as part of the conflict.

The Egyptian role focuses on forming meetings of discussions to end the political rift between the two sides. Egyptian mediators formed the committee after Hamas and Fatah failed to reach an agreement on forming a unity government.