Qatar is not competing with anyone to sponsor Palestinian reconciliation, claims Erekat

The chief Palestinian negotiator and secretary of Fatah’s Executive Committee said on Wednesday that Qatar is not competing with anyone to sponsor Palestinian reconciliation, AlKhaleejonline.com has reported.

“Egypt plays a pivotal role [in the reconciliation],” Saeb Erekat told journalists. “Achieving reconciliation is a priority Arab issue, mainly for Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.” He stressed that there is no Palestinian state in Gaza and there is no Palestinian state without Gaza, and called for the gap between Hamas and Fatah to be bridged so that reconciliation is successful.

Erekat noted that Fatah is to hold its major conference at the end of this month and that there would be new faces there. He called for everyone to be responsible and make sure to maintain the Palestinian national movement and put Palestine back on the map.

When asked about the US president-elect, the veteran official said that Donald Trump’s election is forcing the Arab world to think very carefully about the next four years. “We have to know how to deal with the West,” he said, adding that the presence of Russia, Britain, France and the US in Syria means that the Sykes-Picot Treaty is effectively over and the regional map is being redrawn. “Where,” he asked, “are we amongst all of these issues?”

In conclusion, Erekat reiterated that ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the Palestinian state is the key to positive relations between Europe and the Arab states.