Fatah to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Stance towards US Hinges on Commitment to Int’l Resolutions on Jerusalem

Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
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Fatah to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Stance towards US Hinges on Commitment to Int’l Resolutions on Jerusalem

Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo

Attempts to complete the Palestinian reconciliation process, which has resumed in Cairo over the weekend, have been disrupted by unsettled disagreements over the Palestinian Authority’s failure to deploy its full authority over the Gaza Strip, according to Fatah, while Hamas is calling for easing pressure on the area.

Well-informed Egyptian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a meeting between the Hamas delegation and the representatives of the Egyptian intelligence body, in Cairo on Saturday evening, touched on government employees appointed by Hamas during the period of division, and the PA’s refusal to acknowledge their rights. The meeting also discussed Fatah’s reservations regarding the establishment of a security apparatus in Gaza.

Hamas also raised the problem of power shortage, according to the same sources.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, said: “An agreement has already been signed with (Hamas) and must be strictly implemented.”

He explained that the Palestinian government has not yet imposed its authority over the entire Gaza Strip, “while (the parallel government) of Hamas is still operating in the sector.”

Although the source told Asharq Al-Awsat that representatives of the Fatah movement were not present for the reconciliation talks, he said he expected members of the movement to join the meetings soon.

“It may be after tomorrow [Tuesday], if consensus was reached on some of the files under negotiation in Cairo,” the sources said.

In the same context, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Al-Ahmad to discuss consultations carried out by the Palestinian side both at the regional and international levels on the issue of Jerusalem, spokesman of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said.

He added that discussions focused on the impact of the US decision to consider Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, on the role of the United States as a broker of the peace process and the future of a just settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The Palestinian Authority will not back down before the United States declares its commitment to the legitimate resolutions on Jerusalem,” Al-Ahmed told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The United States is part of this society and cannot dictate its will to everyone by force,” he added.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on Monday in Cairo, where he held talks with Shoukry.



UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
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UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)

A trickle of aid into the Gaza Strip must become an ocean, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

“Food, water, medicine and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction,” he said, describing an alert by a global hunger monitor on Tuesday as confirming “what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.”

“Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes,” he said in a statement.

A worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to end fighting and allow unimpeded aid access, a global hunger monitor warned on Tuesday, saying failure to act now would result in widespread death.

Its alert coincided with a statement from Gaza health authorities saying Israel's military campaign had now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the manmade starvation crisis could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let far more food deliveries in.

"Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said.

It added that it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine".