Member of Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmed met in Cairo with intelligence officials to discuss the Palestinian reconciliation file, following the recent disagreements with Hamas over the issues of government empowerment and the salaries of Gaza employees who served in the Hamas government.
Ahmed, who headed the Fatah delegation in the Palestinian reconciliation process, arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, amid Egyptian attempts to resolve current disputes and put an end to escalatory statements issued by Fatah and Hamas leaders, further fueling tensions between the two sides.
Palestinian sources revealed that big efforts were exerted by Egypt to try to salvage the reconciliation, adding that the Egyptian intelligence officers were holding separate contacts with the leaders of Hamas and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmed.
In this context, Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, and Yehya al-Sinwar, the movement’s leader in the Gaza Strip, renewed their stance on the reconciliation, insisting that the process must continue until reaching the desired goals.
In remarks on Tuesday, Haniyeh underlined the need to protect reconciliation by resolving pending issues and overcoming obstacles. He also stressed his movement’s commitment to the Cairo agreement, warning that any delay would have negative repercussions on the situation in Gaza and the entire Palestinian territories.
Sinwar, for his part, said his movement was determined to reach reconciliation for the sake of the Palestinian national project.
“We have offered a lot of what can be called concessions to achieve reconciliation and we do not regret it,” he said.
