Internal consultations between Hamas members on political escalations

CAIRO – 2 August 2018: A delegation of Hamas members abroad are expected to arrive in Gaza, on Thursday to discuss with the rest of the movement members the recent escalations regarding the reconciliation along with other important political issues; Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in statements to Palestinian media outlets.

He added that achieving Palestinian unity is considered to be the delegation’s priority during their visit to Gaza. Barhoum praised Egypt’s efforts to end the siege on Gaza and ease the people’s sufferings.

“Our people’s fight and struggle against the Israeli occupation is ongoing. We still need to exert more effort to achieve our ambitions and goals,” Barhoum stated.

On Sunday, a high-level Fatah delegation arrived in Cairo to discuss the Palestinian reconciliation with Egyptian officials. Munir al-Jaghoub, head of Fatah's Information Department in the Office of Mobilization and Organization, said that the delegation includes Head of Palestinian General Intelligence Service Majid Faraj and members of Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad, Husein Al-Sheikh and Rawhi Fattouh.

Jaghoub remarked that the delegation headed to Cairo upon the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss ways to deliver the perception of the Palestinian leadership, the current situation in Palestine and the file of reconciliation.

Abbas previously referred during the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization held on Saturday that Egypt sent several proposals tackling the Palestinian reconciliation and that a delegation would head to Egypt on Sunday to deliver the response.

“We are committed to the Palestinian stance taken on Oct. 21, 2017,” said Abbas.
The visit coincided with the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov’s meeting held with Egyptian officials on the Palestinian situation.

On July 11, a Hamas delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, visited Cairo upon an invitation by the Egyptian intelligence to discuss reconciliation efforts and the situation in Gaza. During the visit, Egypt handed over several proposals to advance the stagnant process with Fatah.

Head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, announced on July 19 that the group accepted an Egyptian proposal for reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov spoke to Egypt Today in an exclusive interview about the reconciliation between Palestinian rival factions, Egypt’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the two-state solution and the “deal of the century.”

Egypt has been backing the Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas for almost a year. The reconciliation efforts under Egypt’s auspices officially began in October, when Egypt succeeded to hold a historic meeting between leaders of Fatah and Hamas, turning over the 10-year-old dispute into consensus, as the two parties reactivated the Cairo Agreement signed in 2011.