RedSonRising
27th April 2011, 18:12
Fatah and Hamas sign reconciliation deal
Palestinian factions agree to form interim government and fix general election date following talks in Cairo.
http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/26/2011326153231295472_20.jpg
Abbas, the president of the PA, had called for presidential and legislative elections before September [EPA]
Fatah, the Palestinian political organisation, has reached an agreement with its rival Hamas on forming an interim government and fixing a date for a general election, Egyptian intelligence has said.
In February, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority and a member of Fatah, called for presidential and legislative elections before September (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213772175689.html), in a move which was rejected by Hamas at the time.
"The consultations resulted in full understandings over all points of discussions, including setting up an interim agreement with specific tasks and to set a date for election," Egyptian intelligence said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal, which took many officials by surprise (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011326151419758861.html), was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings.
"The two sides signed initial letters on an agreement. All points of differences have been overcome," Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, told the Reuters news agency.
He said that Cairo would shortly invite both sides to a signing ceremony.
Fatah holds power in the occupied West Bank while Hamas, which won the last parliamentary election in 2006, routed Abbas' forces in 2007 to seize control of the Gaza Strip.
Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo, said: "This effectively will be ending a bitter split that Palestinians have been witnessing since 2007.
"There is an announcement expected in the next few hours to reveal the details of the agreement."
Rageh said the deal was expected to be signed next week and would be attended by Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Damascus.
The accord was first reported by Egypt's intelligence service, which brokered the talks.
In a statement carried by the Egyptian state news agency MENA, the intelligence service said the deal was agreed by a Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the group's politburo, and Fatah central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad.
Al-Ahmad and Abu Marzouk said the agreement covered all points of contention, including forming a transitional government, security arrangements and the restructuring of the Palestine Liberation Organisation to allow Hamas to join it.
Palestinian factions agree to form interim government and fix general election date following talks in Cairo.
http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/26/2011326153231295472_20.jpg
Abbas, the president of the PA, had called for presidential and legislative elections before September [EPA]
Fatah, the Palestinian political organisation, has reached an agreement with its rival Hamas on forming an interim government and fixing a date for a general election, Egyptian intelligence has said.
In February, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority and a member of Fatah, called for presidential and legislative elections before September (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213772175689.html), in a move which was rejected by Hamas at the time.
"The consultations resulted in full understandings over all points of discussions, including setting up an interim agreement with specific tasks and to set a date for election," Egyptian intelligence said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal, which took many officials by surprise (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011326151419758861.html), was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings.
"The two sides signed initial letters on an agreement. All points of differences have been overcome," Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, told the Reuters news agency.
He said that Cairo would shortly invite both sides to a signing ceremony.
Fatah holds power in the occupied West Bank while Hamas, which won the last parliamentary election in 2006, routed Abbas' forces in 2007 to seize control of the Gaza Strip.
Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo, said: "This effectively will be ending a bitter split that Palestinians have been witnessing since 2007.
"There is an announcement expected in the next few hours to reveal the details of the agreement."
Rageh said the deal was expected to be signed next week and would be attended by Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Damascus.
The accord was first reported by Egypt's intelligence service, which brokered the talks.
In a statement carried by the Egyptian state news agency MENA, the intelligence service said the deal was agreed by a Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the group's politburo, and Fatah central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad.
Al-Ahmad and Abu Marzouk said the agreement covered all points of contention, including forming a transitional government, security arrangements and the restructuring of the Palestine Liberation Organisation to allow Hamas to join it.