Political sources based in Ramallah confirmed that rival Palestinian parties are on track to reconciliation thanks to the intervention of five countries that will guarantee fair elections both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Fatah and Hamas, the two main rival parties, had expressed doubts about the integrity of the elections. Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of not maintaining integrity in the West Bank, and Fatah accused Hamas of preventing fair elections in Gaza.
This led to Qatar, Turkey, and Russia pledging to ensure the integrity of elections in Gaza, and Egypt and Jordan guaranteeing fair elections in the West Bank.
Hamas has backed down from its rejection of the PA’s proposal for holding elections for the Palestinian National Council, parliament and the presidency consecutively, within a period of six months at most.
Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh has expressed the movement’s readiness to end internal division and achieve reconciliation in a letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to a presidential statement on Saturday, Secretary-General of the Central Committee of Fatah Movement Jibril Rajoub conveyed the letter to Abbas who welcomed what came in it on ending division, building partnership, and attaining national unity.
Abbas, for his part, told Hamas that he is "committed" to holding elections in a letter sent to Haniyeh.
In a statement issued through the movement's media advisor, Taher Al-Nunu, Haniyeh said that the letter provides grounds for building a partnership, ending the Palestinian division, and creating unity among the people and leadership through a fair and transparent democratic process.
“Abbas reiterated his commitment to achieving partnership and unity as a strategic goal, and called for national dialogue to accomplish this goal,” said the Hamas leader.
“He will work on creating a positive environment to enforce all understandings and agreements, including outcomes of the Palestinian factions' secretaries-general conference held last September,” he added.
