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Palestinian Groups Hamas and Fatah Discuss Post-Gaza Plans

15 May 2024, Australia, Canberra: Protesters hold flags at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House in Canberra. (dpa)
15 May 2024, Australia, Canberra: Protesters hold flags at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House in Canberra. (dpa)
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Palestinian Groups Hamas and Fatah Discuss Post-Gaza Plans

15 May 2024, Australia, Canberra: Protesters hold flags at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House in Canberra. (dpa)
15 May 2024, Australia, Canberra: Protesters hold flags at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House in Canberra. (dpa)

Leaders from Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement discussed plans for cooperation after the war in Gaza in a new round of talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.

The talks are the first since the two groups met in China in July and agreed steps to form a Palestinian unity government for Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

They are also part of long-running and previously unsuccessful efforts to heal a schism that hardened when Hamas seized control of Gaza in a brief conflict with Fatah in 2007.

The Hamas delegation is led by Khalil Al-Hayya, the group's Qatar-based second-in-command and chief negotiator, Hamas media official Taher Al-Nono said.

A Palestinian official said the Fatah delegation was led by Fatah's second-in-command, Mahmoud Al-Aloul. There was no immediate comment from Fatah.

"The meeting will discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the challenges facing the Palestinian cause," Nono said.

The issue of the administration of Gaza after the end of the year-old Israel-Hamas war is one of the thorniest issues facing the Palestinians.

Israel, which began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, has ruled out the group's inclusion in a post-war administration.

It says it also does not trust the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to do the job.

The Palestinian factions say their post-war plans are an internal affair, and reject Israeli conditions.

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Arab World

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hezbollah Tasking Me to Hold Political Negotiations Is Nothing New

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a dialogue meeting in 2006. (AFP)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a dialogue meeting in 2006. (AFP)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hezbollah Tasking Me to Hold Political Negotiations Is Nothing New

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a dialogue meeting in 2006. (AFP)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a dialogue meeting in 2006. (AFP)

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday that no positive progress has been made to stop the Israeli war on Lebanon, a reference to American officials “who say they support an end to the war, but do nothing to do so.”

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he added that Hezbollah’s tasking him to hold political negotiations “is nothing new and doesn’t change anything.”

Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem had said on Monday that Berri has been tasked with the negotiations.

“I was in charge of political negotiations during the 2006 war and I am doing the same thing today,” he went on to say, while dismissing claims that he had rejected such a mission.

The speaker noted that with Hezbollah officials being targeted by Israel, he has gained a greater responsibility in the negotiations.

Moreover, he said that Lebanon is still committed to the principles that were approved during his meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

On international stances on ceasefire efforts, he remarked: “The French and the British are still with us.”

“As for the Americans, they say they are with us, but do nothing to stop the aggression,” stressed Berri.

He added that attention will be shifted to the United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday and whether it will issue anything related to Lebanon. The conflict will definitely be on the table, he stated.

The meeting will indicate which path the political course is taking, he explained.

Meanwhile, Mikati said Arab and international efforts were still ongoing to stop the Israeli attack on Lebanon, but “Israel remains intransigent and is forging ahead to claim what it believes are victories and gains.”

In a statement from his office, Mikati dismissed concerns that diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have ceased, stressing: “We continue to hold the necessary contacts.”

“Lebanon’s Arab and international friends are also exerting pressure to reach a ceasefire so that the main political steps can be discussed, most notably the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 and forcing Israel to abide by it,” he added.