Hamas to ‘offer staggering concessions’ to end divisions

CAIRO – 29 September 2017: The head of the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip, Yehya Sinwar, stated that Hamas will “offer staggering concessions” in order to overcome Palestinian division and achieve reconciliation.

During a meeting of Hamas in Gaza, Sinwar stated that his movement has decided to achieve reconciliation as it is an irrevocable strategic option, adding that "Hamas is a strong movement, so it offered significant concessions to achieve reconciliation and will continue.”

“We should rise above partisan calculations; we want to move to the future to build our national project,” he said.

Sinwar expressed his movement's intention to end the problems at the national level and to put an end to the Palestinian disputes in order to focus on serving the Palestinian National Project.

He stressed that they will not allow anyone or any party to obstruct the reconciliation process, reiterating that his movement is "accumulating its strength" to acheive the Palestinian liberation, not to rule Gaza.

Commenting about the speech of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the U.N. General Assembly, Sinwar said that he wanted the Palestinian president to be “strong, not weak.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will head on Monday to the Gaza Strip, where he will hold a cabinet session the next day, marking the beginning of work on ending the split between Fatah and Hamas.

The Hamas movement announced on Sunday the dissolving of the administrative committee in the Gaza Strip, inviting the Government of National Reconciliation to assume its duties and hold general elections. The movement affirmed it would comply with the Social Reconciliation Accord signed with Fatah in 2011.

The Social Reconciliation Accord in Cairo aimed to restore unity among Palestinian political actors in 2011 following 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.