Fatah delegation visits Cairo to discuss completion of Palestinian reconciliation

Today, Cairo has declared that it would welcome a delegation from the Palestinian movement Fatah on Friday to discuss ways to complete the Palestinian reconciliation.

Fatah delegation includes Azzam Al-Ahmad, member of Fatah Central Committee and head of its parliamentary bloc, Hussein Al-Sheikh, Minister of Civil Affairs in the Palestinian Authority and member of the Central Committee, and Rawhi Fattouh, member of the Central Committee and the movement’s international relations commissioner.

It is not known whether Fatah leaders will meet up with Hamas delegation, which paid a visit to Cairo last Thursday headed by Ismail Haniyeh, head of the movement’s political bureau.

In a statement to the official radio station Voice of Palestine on Wednesday, Azzam Al-Ahmad stipulated that Hamas should explicitly dissolve the administrative committee it has formed to manage Gaza Strip, enable the Accord Government to carry out its work in Gaza Strip and be committed to holding legislative, presidential and National Council elections before engaging in any dialogue.

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Al-Ahmad declared that a delegation from the movement would travel to Cairo in a few days to meet the Egyptian leadership and not Hamas delegation.

Earlier today, Nasser Al-Qudwa, member of the Central Committee of Fatah movement, stated that “his movement has not yet received any Egyptian initiative about any reconciliation with Hamas.”

He said during a news conference held at the headquarter of Media and Culture Commission, which is affiliated with the movement in the central West Bank occupied city of Ramallah, that “Fatah needs a quick, effective and honest dialogue with the Egyptian leadership in order to clarify the situation and to ascertain the positions of Hamas to end the division.”

Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’s political bureau, said during a meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Major General Khaled Fawzy that his movement was ready to hold dialogue sessions with Fatah movement in Cairo.

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Hamas has put the administrative committee it set up before to run Gaza Strip at Egypt’s disposal in case the Palestinian president agrees to national reconciliation.

Egyptian officials will contact President Mahmoud Abbas to urge him to push the file of reconciliation and arrange a meeting between Fatah and Hamas’s leaders, according to Al-Hayat newspaper.

Arab media reported the existence of Egyptian efforts aiming to hold meetings between Fatah and Hamas leaders in Cairo.

Since mid-June 2007, the political and geographical division has dominated the territory of the Palestinian Authority, following the Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip, while Fatah remained in control of the West Bank and regional as well as international authorities have failed to end this division.