Key Palestinian factions open reconciliation talks ahead of elections
The key Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, have opened talks in the Egyptian capital to tackle issues that could jeopardize long-awaited elections.
Leaders of fourteen Palestinian political groups started a comprehensive national dialog in Cairo on Monday to reach an agreement on the mechanism of holding elections in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Fatah delegation, led by Jibril Rajoub, and the Hamas team, headed by Saleh al-Arouri, would examine ways to boost inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
A range of thorny issues such as judicial and security arrangements for the vote and the fate of Palestinian voters in East Jerusalem al-Quds would be discussed during the reconciliation talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he would not agree to elections unless Palestinians in East Jerusalem al-Quds can vote. Such a guarantee is unlikely. Israel has labelled the entire city its "undivided capital."
Before his departure to Cairo, Rajub was upbeat. "We are confident we will overcome any obstacles in going ahead with legislative elections slated for May 22."
In January, Abbas announced the 2021 elections would include legislative vote scheduled for May 22, presidential vote to be held on July 31 and the Palestinian National Council elections slated for August 31.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau, wrote a letter to the Palestinian president, calling for ending division.
The Palestinian leadership has been divided between Fatah and Hamas since 2006, when the latter scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Hamas has ever since been running the densely-populated coastal enclave, while Fatah has been based in the autonomous parts of the occupied West Bank.
The relation between the Palestinian Authority and the United States soured after the US administration of Donald Trump recognized the whole Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. The former US president also cut aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and proposed a much-condemned plan – known as the Deal of the Century – that allowed Israel to seize large parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
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