Fatah officials discuss diplomatic steps, reconciliation with Hamas

The meeting of the Fatah movement’s central committee

Ramallah, 14 Rabiul Akhir 1437/24 January 2016 (MINA) – The Fatah movement’s central committee, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, met on Saturday evening to discuss Palestinian international policy, a spokesperson said.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the central committee discussed the possibility of holding an international conference to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish a Palestinian state.

According to Abu Rudeineh, Abbas said such a conference should aim to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, Mi’raj Islamic New Agency (MINA) reported, quoting Ma’an.

Abbas also reportedly talked about the preparations to eventually head to the UN Security Council over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are illegal under international law.

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The continuation of settlement building would force Palestinians to take “decisive” actions based on the resolutions of the central committee, Abu Rudeineh said.

The spokesman added that the meeting also broached the issue of “Fatah’s internal situation,” as well as the possibility of reconciliation with the Hamas movement.

Fatah central committee member Amal Hamad had told Mawtini radio station earlier on Saturday that factions of Fatah were striving towards more responsibility, adding that “there is a real invitation for the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements to form a serious national partnership.”

The relationship between Hamas and Fatah has been in a dire state after a government of national consensus was dissolved in June, one year after it was first announced.

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The two Palestinian parties have had particularly tense relations since Hamas won legislative elections in 2006 and became the ruling party in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Authority officials have criticized Hamas for creating a shadow government in the Gaza Strip and blocking efforts to reach political unity.

Hamas has in turn accused the PA of executing a plan to “eradicate” the movement from the West Bank, saying that an arrest campaign of hundreds of members was carried out by the PA to target reconciliation efforts between the two factions. (T/R07/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)