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Hamas, Fatah meet in Cairo in Bid to End Feud | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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An Israeli soldier stands guard near a Palestinian man while a bulldozer clears the ground to expand the Israeli settlement of Carmel (unseen top R), south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. (EPA)


An Israeli soldier stands guard near a Palestinian man while a bulldozer clears the ground to expand the Israeli settlement of Carmel (unseen top R), south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. (EPA)

An Israeli soldier stands guard near a Palestinian man while a bulldozer clears the ground to expand the Israeli settlement of Carmel (unseen top R), south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. (EPA)

CAIRO (AFP) – Rival Palestinian delegations from president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party and the Islamist movement Hamas were holding a new round of talks in Cairo on Monday to push forward a national reconciliation.

The delegations are due to meet for three-way talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman at 11:00 (0800 GMT), senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath told AFP.

He expected the meetings to last at least three days.

The Fatah team is headed by former prime minister Ahmed Qorei, while the Hamas delegation is led by politburo member Mussa Abu Marzouk.

The rival factions are expected to discuss the formation of a national unity government and its programme, the reform of security apparatuses and the drafting of a new electoral law.

But hopes for progress seemed dim at the start of the talks with Hamas predicting obstacles and Fatah admitting there were “still many issues to cover.”

“But we insist on reaching an agreement,” Shaath said.

On Sunday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said this round of talks would be “the most difficult.”

The two sides began their negotiations in Cairo on March 10, but so far the talks have made little headway in healing the deep rift between the West Bank-based government of Abbas and the Islamist rulers of Gaza.

Discussions were suspended for three weeks on April 2 and a few days later Egypt proposed adjourning efforts to form a unified government and instead setting up a committee to coordinate two rival cabinets.

An agreement is vital for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip which has

been controlled by Hamas since June 2007.

The impoverished territory was devastated by a massive Israeli offensive at the turn of the year which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead and caused widespread destruction.

International donors have pledged 4.5 billion dollars to the Palestinians, much of it for the rebuilding of Gaza.

But the aid was promised to Abbas’s government, not to Hamas, and no reconstruction aid has been allowed into the Islamist-ruled territory.

Most Western governments refuse to deal with Hamas until it renounces violence and recognises Israel and past peace agreements.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed doubt that the rival Palestinian factions would clinch a deal on a unity government.

Clinton said no aid would flow to Hamas “or any entity controlled by Hamas” and again insisted that Washington would not deal with any Palestinian government that failed to recognise Israel.

Fatah and Hamas have been bitterly divided ever since the Islamists seized control of Gaza in a week of deadly factional fighting.

Egyptian efforts to reconcile them have run up against deep disagreements over the makeup and obligations of a Palestinian unity government.

With hopes of a unity government fading, Egypt has proposed that the two sides instead coordinate their rival administrations in Gaza and the West Bank through a joint committee.

Palestinian girls wearing the traditional Palestinian dress during a Hamas festival marking the 61th anniversary of the 'Nakba' (catastrophe) in the central Gaza City. (EPA)

Palestinian girls wearing the traditional Palestinian dress during a Hamas festival marking the 61th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’ (catastrophe) in the central Gaza City. (EPA)

Palestinian policemen pass by a poster of assassinated Hamas leader, Sheikh Zassin, as they patrol in the streets of Gaza City during Hamas commemorations of 'Nakba' (catastrophe) day in Gaza City, Gaza. (EPA)

Palestinian policemen pass by a poster of assassinated Hamas leader, Sheikh Zassin, as they patrol in the streets of Gaza City during Hamas commemorations of ‘Nakba’ (catastrophe) day in Gaza City, Gaza. (EPA)