Palestinians hope punitive measures to be annulled

CAIRO – 8 October 2017: Delegations of Palestine’s two main political factions, Fatah and Hamas, will convene in Cairo on Tuesday in response to the Egyptian bid to patch up the Palestinian division.

The negotiations came in the framework of reconciliation between the two movements under sponsorship of Egypt.

A number of resolutions are expected to be adopted during the negotiations, such as the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abou Mazen) would issue a decree to annul punitive measures he imposed on the Gaza Strip after the division.

Different Palestinian powers and public opinion called on the two movements to consider the interest of different Palestinian issues and dismiss the partisan interests.
Amid the Palestinians’ hopes to end the division, alleviate the suffering of the Gaza Strip and achieve national unity, which will strengthen the position of the Palestinian negotiator in the peace process. The Palestinian citizens place their hope in President Abbas’s decision to cancel the measures imposed on the sector.

Earlier, the internationally recognized Palestinian government, headed by Abbas, met in Gaza for the first time since 2014 amid fresh efforts to end a decade-long split between the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled coastal strip.

Hamas announced on September 17 the dissolution of the Administrative Committee at the Gaza Strip, inviting the Government of National Unity to assume its duties and hold general elections. The movement affirmed it would comply with the Social Reconciliation Accord signed in 2011.