Palestinian factions to mark unity deal

04/05/2011| IslamWeb

Representatives of Palestinian factions are set to gather in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to mark a reconciliation agreement.

Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the Hamas movement, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah, are expected to attend Wednesday's ceremony along with world leaders.

Meshaal spoke in Cairo on Tuesday night, saying the reconciliation agreement is the beginning of "a new Arab era and a new Palestinian era, putting Israel in a corner".

"It will say to all the world that there is now an Arab-Palestinian determination that needs to be respected," he said.

The unity deal, which aims to end the feud between the ideologically divided factions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, involves members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), independent figures and Islamic Jihad, Popular Resistance Committee and Hamas.

It will pave the way for presidential and legislative elections within a year.

The deal has been denounced by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, as "a hard blow to peace process".

Israel and the United States consider Hamas, which controls Gaza, a "terrorist organization".

'Success not guaranteed'

Netanyahu's call on Abbas to cancel the agreement was denounced as "unacceptable interference" by Azzam al-Ahmed, the head of Fatah's delegation.

Ahmed said the factions will work on forming an interim government after Wednesday's official ceremony that will be attended by Nabil al-Arabi Muwafi, the Egyptian foreign minister, and Amr Moussa, the Arab League chief.

Abbas said Israel does not wish to see the Palestinians united because it thrives on their divisions.

"There are no guarantees for the success of the agreement, which has many enemies and there are attempts to undermine the agreement from several parties," Abbas told the Al-Ahram newspaper.

"Despite the fact that there are no guarantees to make this agreement successful there is a will and a way to agree," he said.

"It is not required of Hamas to recognize Israel. We will form a government of technocrats and we will not ask Hamas to recognize Israel."

Under the deal, three separate committees will be formed, to plan for the upcoming elections, reform the PLO, and to incorporate a security system between Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian officials say the new government's role will be to manage affairs in the Palestinian territories, while the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will remain in charge of 'peace' talks with Israel.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Gaza Strip-based delegation with members of the Fatah party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Islamic Jihad sit on a bus at the Rafah border terminal in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing to Egypt.

Al-Jazeera