UPDATED ON:
Monday, October 20, 2008
22:07 Mecca time, 19:07 GMT
 
News Middle East
Palestinian rivals invited to talks
Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 creating a bitter divide with Fatah [AFP]

Egypt has invited the Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah to meet in Cairo on November 9 for talks aimed at restoring Palestinian unity.

"We received yesterday a draft of the Egyptian vision for
Palestinian reconciliation which includes a call for a full
Palestinian dialogue in November," Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said on Monday.

"Hamas has no problem in attending [such a meeting] and we were the first to call for Palestinian-Palestinian talks to end the internal conflict," Barhoum said.

The two main Palestinian movements have been bitterly divided since Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, pushing out security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader.

Dr Abdallah Abdallah, a member of the Palestinian parliament for Fatah, told Al Jazeera: "The Egyptian government has submitted its invitation to all thirteen Palestinian factions."

He did not confirm if Fatah would attend the talks.

Usamah Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera: "Abu Mazen [Abbas] does not intend to attend direct talks with Hamas and Fatah, or the meeting being held with all the Palestinian factions.

"But some members of Hamas will attend this meeting. This draft needs a lot of work to be a good proposal for the Palestinians. It shows that Fatah has a very negative position which will not help the Palestinians reunite themselves," he said.

Presidential term

The divisions between Fatah and Hamas have grown worse in recent weeks amid a disagreement over when Abbas's presidential term ends.

Hamas has said that Abbas, elected in January 2005, will cease to be president once his constitutionally mandated four-year term officially expires on January 8.

"All factions have agreed that the Palestinian Liberation Organisation ... will be solely responsible for negotiations with Israel"

Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera correspondent in Ramallah

Abbas loyalists, citing a Palestinian law, say that presidential and parliamentary elections must be held at the same time, which would extend his term to 2010.

"The Egyptian government has submitted its invitation to all thirteen Palestinian factions," Dr Abdallah Abdallah, a member of the Palestinian parliament for Fatah, told Al Jazeera.

Abbas has called for the establishment of a politically independent national unity government to pave the way for elections to be held at an agreed upon time.

This position was reflected in a draft reconciliation plan, obtained by Al Jazeera, that has been put forward by Egyptian mediators ahead of the talks. 

The plan calls for "the establishment of a national consensus government" that would lift the international blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.

Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas took full control, limiting supplies and economic activity in the territory.

The plan also also provides for an independent Palestinian security force with assistance from Arab states and the incorporation of Hamas into the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) headed by Abbas, which is responsible for negotiations with Israel.

Reconciliation 'roadmap'

"Basically what the draft entails is a declaration of principles that Egypt wants all Palestinian factions, not just Hamas and Fatah to sign on to this deal ... [and] agree to be part of committees that will discuss each point that all factions have agreed on," Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said.

 The draft is seen as a "roadmap to reaching national reconciliation for Palestinians and they have outlined them in the number of points which we have already heard from Fatah and Hamas and other factions that they agree on," she said.

"But the devil is in the details and we will wait to see how far these factions will go in reaching a consensus on each of those points.

"All factions have agreed that Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) headed by president Mahmoud Abbas at the moment, will be the party solely responsible for negotiations with Israel," she said.

Israel, the European Union and United States consider Hamas to be a "terrorist" organisation and concerns have been raised that full reconciliation could lead to sanctions. 

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 6
 
ramil
Indonesia
21/10/2008
Unity among Palestinians
It is high time that all Palestinians factions should unite to achieve genuine peace and combat altogether the injustices committed by the jews. The more factions they have the more weak they are. They should also increase their faith in Allah for no one could them except HIM.

Ali
United States
21/10/2008
Good idea

Bigmel1981
Malaysia
21/10/2008
Palestinian rivals invited to talks
Good Idea.

Nina
Canada
21/10/2008
Agreement? Maybe. Durability? Not sure!
I couldn't be more pessimistic about this meeting. Hamas and Fatah have shown nothing but hatred towards each other and unwillingness to compromise ever since Hamas won the legislative elections. Negotiations have been numerous between then and now, and no sign of agreement what so ever. It takes one Hamas or Fatah official or militant to be killed by one or the other to cancel any agreement made. We can only hope for a durable agreement at this point.

jan
Indonesia
21/10/2008
palestinian rivals
it's ridiculous to see that the Palestinian factions are killing each other while the Israeli settlers are taking Palestinian lands

Amer Yassine
Australia
22/10/2008
Palestinian rivals invited to talks
Isnt Funny That the egyptian Gov't is tryn to unite the palestinian, At the same time Egyptian Gov't has got its own problems. Wake Up Arabs and smell the coffe, you cant make peace while you dont practise Peace. (Look at the brotherhood in Egypt). They only was is peace you your are at peace with The All mighty Allah and follow the Book of Truth The Quran. Return Of the Khalifah inshallah will flush out the hypocrites and return the honour and pride back to our lands inshallah. Amer Yassine

 
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