Palestinian resistance delegations meet in Cairo to discuss unity

The senior leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Khader Habib, has said that the meeting in Cairo at the weekend between the political bureau members of his movement and their counterparts from Hamas was aimed at reinforcing unity as a priority for the two groups, Al-Resala.net has reported. According to Habib, the meeting was held at the invitation of the Egyptian government.

The delegations were headed by Ismail Haniyeh for Hamas and Ziyad Al-Nakhalah for Islamic Jihad. They arrived in the Egyptian capital on Saturday; all are based outside the occupied Palestinian territories.

Habib told Al-Resala that the delegations emphasised resistance as the only option in the face of the Israeli occupation of their land. They agreed that the struggle against the occupation will continue until the rights of the Palestinian people are restored. The Islamic Jihad leader pointed out that such meetings demonstrate the constant communication between the two Palestinian movements with the aim of discussing national concerns and reinforcing unity between Palestinian factions.

In a separate statement, Hamas said that the two sides discussed various national issues in light of Israeli attacks in Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the West Bank, as well as the violations that Palestinian prisoners are being subjected to by the Israeli authorities. Ways to consolidate their bilateral strategic relationship and how to develop it to serve the resistance and the various issues that concern the Palestinian people were also on the agenda, as was the importance of Egypt’s role in supporting the Palestinian people and their cause.

In a related move, three Palestinian delegations headed to Cairo from the Gaza Strip last Thursday. They represented Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Hamas-run government in the coastal enclave.

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