Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in an official capacity for the first time since Oct. 7 this week at a summit hosted by Russia, along with other Palestinian factions.
Following two days of meetings, the factions said in a joint statement Friday that they aim to hold more rounds of meetings to reach “national unity that includes all Palestinian forces and factions within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
Hamas is not part of the Fatah-dominated PLO, which has officially recognized the state of Israel. Hamas does not — although its leaders have signaled they are interested in joining the PLO, which would at least implicitly entail recognizing Israel based upon pre-1967 borders.
Hamas political official Osama Hamdan said last week that his group hopes to reach a “unified position” on future governance of the Palestinian territories with Fatah and other factions.
Hamdan said Hamas supports a “Palestinian government to be formed by the factions” that would oversee post-war reconstruction and prepare for general elections in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
