Hamdallah supports Palestinian factions’ meeting in Cairo

CAIRO – 19 November 2017: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah affirmed in an emergency meeting Sunday his full support to the Palestinian factions and expressed his hopes of reaching an agreement on all the issues that will be discussed during meeting scheduled in Cairo on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the Palestinian cabinet stressed the necessity of mobilizing all efforts to continue the construction of the nation and its institutions.

The Palestinian cabinet stressed the importance of enabling the government to exert its full control over the Gaza Strip in order to carry out its tasks as stipulated in the agreements of national reconciliation.

They asserted that the national reconciliation government can succeed only with clear solutions in all security, financial, civil and administrative issues, which resulted from the division, based on the Palestinian laws and regulations.

The Palestinian cabinet reviewed the most important challenges and obstacles faced by the government in exercising its rule in the Gaza Strip since the signing of the reconciliation agreement, foremost of which is the security file.

In late October, a delegation from the National Palestinian Government, headed by director of the Border Crossings Authority, Nazmi Mehanna, arrived in Cairo to discuss taking control of the Egypt-Gaza border crossing from Hamas, a high-profile official requesting anonymity told Egypt Today.

The delegation’s visit came after the recently achieved inter-Palestinian reconciliation, which was brokered by Egypt. As per the condition, the Palestinian Authority should assume responsibility of all border crossings by November 1.

On October 3, the consensus government held its first cabinet meeting in Gaza.

Despite numerous attempts to reconcile the Palestinian split – led by international and Arab efforts – only Egypt, with its historic and political significant position, was able to bring an end to the nightmare. Egypt managed to bring conflicting Palestinian factions together to overcome their differences, creating new conditions away from the fear of exclusion.

Egypt helped the factions realize that they need to move forward towards a partnership based on the notion that Palestine is for all Palestinians.