for the Liberation of Palestine near the Rafah border crossing in the southern
Gaza Strip on March 19, 2009. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar)
Delegations from the Palestinian People‘s Party and Palestinian Democratic Union departed on Monday for meetings in the Egyptian capital, and a Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine mission said it would be in Cairo for a Thursday summit.
Last Wednesday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Liberation Front also said they had received invitations to talks in Egypt this week, and the Islamic Jihad movement met with Egyptian officials in the capital on Thursday.
The parties will take part in separate bilateral meetings with Egyptian officials to prepare for a cross-factional summit on Dec. 20, the factions said.
They will discuss implementation mechanisms agreed by Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal and Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas in the Egyptian capital last week, in the leaders’ first meeting since the deal to end four years of violent rivalry was signed in May.
The PPP delegation inlcudes general secretary Bassam al-Salihi, and politburo members Tilaat al-Safadi and Assim Abdul Hadi and will meet with Egyptian officials from Wednesday, a press statement said.
A Palestinian Democratic Union delegation headed by its president Anwar Hilal also left for the Cairo talks on Monday.
PPP members said in a press statement that they are committed to implementing concrete steps towards reconciliation and ending the split between the Fatah-dominated administration in the West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza Strip government.
The DFLP delegation, headed by general secretary Nayef Hawatmeh, will travel to the Egyptian capital for a Thursday meeting with Egyptian officials, DFLP leader Ziyad Jarghon said Monday.
Jarghon said the DFLP is committed to a comprehensive agreement and not a partial or bilateral one. Other invited factions have also stressed that the reconciliation deal ending fighting between Fatah and Hamas must include all Palestinian political groups.
The Democratic Front leader said Egypt was determined to enable implementation of the deal by ensuring the participation of all factions.
He noted that while Egypt is preoccupied with its own problems, it continues to attend to external issues such as Palestinian reconciliation, and expressed hope that international intervention would not compromise internal Palestinian affairs.
All factions must support and work towards the upcoming cross-factional meeting, he said, adding that it was time to begin actually implementing the deal.
“Palestinian people want to see the reconciliation implemented through actual steps in reality,” Jarghon said.
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