Palestinians Rally in Ramallah to Speed up Reconciliation

Palestinians wave their national flag during a rally in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Ramallah, MINA – Palestinians taking part in a rally in Ramallah on Saturday called for ending the split among Palestinians forever and achieving national unity.

They urged the Palestinian factions due to meet in Cairo next week to speed up work and handle all points of disagreement, for achieving reconciliation and unity.

The rally was organized by the “Patriots to End the Split and Restore National Unity” movement and other Palestinian national forces. Participants carried banners directing their message mainly to Hamas and Fatah Movements.

Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Qays Abdulkarim said that the Ramallah march reflected the urgent call by all Palestinians to the factions that “it is high time sectoral interests were set aside, and core issues addressed.”

Essential issues included in the 2011 agreement have to be handled, mainly the formation of a national unity government, paving the way for presidential and legislative elections within six months, he told KUNA.

The Cairo gathering is supposed to reaffirm previous agreements among the Palestinian factions, and set a time framework for implementing the commitments of each side, he added.

Abdulkarim reiterated the vital role of the Egyptians in the reconciliation efforts.

“We are urging the completion of reconciliation through tangible steps, namely agreeing on forming a national unity government, holding elections and concluding a national strategy to end the Israeli occupation,” Essam Bakr, member of the politburo of the Palestinian People’s Party.

He stressed the “real danger” on the Palestinian cause if the split persists, noting that Egypt’s efforts and guarantees raise optimism.

Bakr noted that there are various obstacles but the “political will demonstrated over the past weeks could be completed through more serious and concrete steps.”

Founder of the “Patriots to End the Split and Restore National Unity” Ali A’mer, said that they pin great hopes on the Cairo meeting hoping it would be a “quantum shift” to end the split and restore national unity and the former status of the PLO.

Talking to KUNA, A’mer called for reinforcing the Palestinian political and popular partnerships.

Egypt has invited the Palestinian factions bound to the 2011 agreement to meet in Cairo Tuesday, November 21. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)