IRAN WELCOMES PALESTINIAN UNITY AGREEMENT

Teheran, 26 Jumadil Akhir 1435/26 April 2014 (MINA) -The Iranian foreign ministry said on Saturday that it “welcomed” a recent agreement between Fatah and Hamas, highlighting that it supported any move that helped the Palestinian people confront Zionist “aggression.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes solidarity among the Palestinian groups against the Zionist regime and any kind of national reconciliation that results in Palestinian unity,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a statement.

Afkham added that Iran welcomed “decision-making within the framework of the realization of this nation’s valuable aspirations in confronting the excesses and violations” of the Israeli regime, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

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On Wednesday, the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties.

The deal infuriated Israel, which halted peace talks with the Palestinians and vowed other unspecified “measures” in response.

The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas defended the reconciliation agreement signed with Hamas saying the agreement does not contradict peace talks with Israel.

The agreement drew sharp criticism from Israeli officials who said the move reveals the Palestinians’ lack of desire to achieve peace, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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The Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying: “The Palestinian people’s interest to preserve the unity of their land and people will contribute to strengthening and promoting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.”

Abbas pointed out that such a move backed by international and Arab bodies will enhance the Palestinian negotiators’ ability to complete the two-state solution. This, he said, is fully consistent with the Arab peace initiative and the accords of Mecca, Doha and Cairo as well as with international legitimacy and the United Nations General Assembly resolution in 2012 to recognise the State of Palestine as a an observer state based on the 1967 borders.(T/P02/P04)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)