Abbas, Fatah Central Committee Member Qudwa Hold Reconciliation Meeting

Supporters of PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in Tubas, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP)
Supporters of PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in Tubas, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP)
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Abbas, Fatah Central Committee Member Qudwa Hold Reconciliation Meeting

Supporters of PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in Tubas, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP)
Supporters of PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in Tubas, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP)

A reconciliation meeting was held between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah Central Committee member Nasser al-Qudwa, confirmed head of Fatah’s Information Department in the Office of Mobilization and Organization Munir al-Jaghoub on Saturday.

Qudwa, who is also a nephew of former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yasser Arafat, met with Abbas in the presence of a number of members of the Committee, al-Jaghoub said in an official announcement.

The two men, according to al-Jaghoub, agreed on the importance of maintaining unity among the ranks of the Fatah movement, which is also led by Abbas.

“They agreed on unity and commitment to the movement’s decisions,” he said.

Qudwa boycotted a meeting of the Committee, headed by Abbas, amid reports that he was studying the possibility of forming his own list or supporting an unofficial Fatah list in upcoming elections.

Over the last few years, tensions have grown between Abbas and Qudwa, especially after the latter attempted to resign in 2018.

Qudwa’s resignation was turned down and a settlement was reached to keep him in the party.

Abbas and Qudwa have several disagreements concerning Palestinian politics in general and Fatah in particular.

Qudwa, in a virtual seminar held on Thursday, called for a comprehensive overhaul of the Palestinian political system, noting that it was “beyond repair.”

He urged finding a real solution based on the needs of Palestinians and confronting Israeli occupation.

Calling the current political framework unproductive, he blamed internal fighting and worsening relations with Arab states for the dismay of Palestinians today.

“The central goal is to achieve national independence,” Qudwa stressed when addressing the obstacles facing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Separately, he described the recent understanding between Fatah and Hamas regarding upcoming elections as “a deal to preserve some individual interests at the expense of national interests.”

He vocally rejected this understanding and noted that he refuses to go to elections on a joint list with Hamas.

The parliamentary elections are set for May 22, while presidential polls are scheduled for July 31.



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.