Hamas agrees to Fatah talks, Egypt's role in reconciliation hailed

CAIRO – 17 September 2017: Hamas movement announced on Sunday the dissolving of the administrative committee at Gaza Strip, inviting the Government of National Reconciliation to assume its duties and hold general elections.

The move was met by international praise as part of efforts of inter-Palestine reconciliation. The movement affirmed that it would comply with the Social Reconciliation Accord signed with Fatah in 2011.

For its part, Egypt, which has brokered reconciliations between both parties, welcomed the stance of the Palestinian Movements of Hamas and Fatah.

“President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is keen on the unity of the Palestinian people, and ending the division.”

Egypt also reaffirmed its continued efforts to contact President Mahmoud Abbas and all Palestinian factions to serve the public interest.

The Social Reconciliation Accord in Cairo 2011 aimed to restore unity among Palestinian political actors after four years of conflict since 2007. It was inked by the Egyptian authority in 2009, and was accepted by the two parties in May 2011 following Palestinian demonstrations.

After the recent developments, Hamas and Fatah would start a dialogue, and form a national unity government upon the Egyptian initiative to achieve unity among Palestinian powers.


Egypt's efforts in reconciliation hailed

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolai Mladenov, welcomed Hamas’ announcement, hailing Egypt’s efforts in creating this positive momentum to unite the Palestinians.

He also called all parties to seize this opportunity to restore unity and stressed the readiness of the United Nations to support efforts in this regard, pointing out the importance of addressing the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially the electricity crisis, as a priority.

Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah parliamentary bloc and member of Palestinian Fatah's central committee, welcomed Hamas pledge to try to end Palestinian split and expressed deep appreciation to Egypt’s government which works tirelessly to reach a reconciliation agreement between the different Palestinian parties to end the division.

Al-Ahmed, who presides the Fatah reconciliation delegation, stated that the coming days will witness tangible practical steps as the Government of National Reconciliation will assume its duties and hold general elections in accordance with the law in Gaza aiming to continue efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip and lift the unjust siege imposed on them.

The former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan also praised Hamas’ stance in dissolving the administrative committee at the Gaza Strip and called President Mahmoud Abbas to respond positively to this step.

He also pointed out that Egypt, which has presented thousands of martyrs in the honor battles on Palestinian land, has been and still is the keenest in the Palestinian cause, and proved every time that it defends the interests of the whole nation.

“We assure the masses of our people that we will not give up our responsibilities, and we will continue to support our people everywhere, because this is our duty and our line that we will not deviate from,” Dahlan ended.

Earlier in 2017, Hamas announced forming an administrative committee in the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian authorities accused Hamas then of attempting to form a shadow government and form an independent state in Gaza.

About seven previous reconciliation attempts between Fatah and Hamas since 2007 failed, including Fatah-Hamas Doha talks in 2012.

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo on Sept. 10 to meet with a number of Egyptian officials to discuss inter-Palestinian reconciliation and the situation of the Gaza people, according to Hamas’ statement.

It was the first visit since Haniyeh took over as president in last May, the Associated Press stated Sunday.

A delegation from the Fatah movement headed by Azzam al-Ahmed, arrived on Saturday in Cairo to discuss ways to implement Palestinian reconciliation.