The representatives of various Palestinian factions have held a meeting in the Gaza Strip to end the political divisions and discuss national reconciliation.
The Wednesday meeting came in light of the ongoing developments in the region and growing demand by the Palestinian people to end the long-standing split.
“All factions seek to end the division and restructure the Palestinian political system,” Islamic Jihad Leader Khalid al-Batsh told Press TV.
The meeting highlighted the need to restructure the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
“Hamas takes regional developments as well as Palestinian aspirations into account. The participants are in favor of reconciliation,” Hamas Spokesman Ayman Taha told the Press TV correspondent in Gaza.
The participants also agreed to organize a rally on Friday to show solidarity among all Palestinian factions, as well as their desire for reconciliation and a national unity government.
However, the representatives of Fatah movement were absent from the meeting.
Fatah says nothing constructive can possibly come out of the Gaza meeting, and instead has called on the Palestinian people to take to the streets and demand an end to the political division.
“These boring meetings have been going on for 4 years without any results. The Palestinian people should follow the example of the popular uprisings in the Arab world in order to put pressure on their leaders,” said Yahya Rabah, a Fatah official.
Dispute exacerbated between Hamas and Fatah, the two largest Palestinian factions, after Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006.
In the ensuing clashes between the two parties, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and pushed the Fatah movement out of the enclave.
The inter-Palestinian rivalry is a major obstacle hampering Israeli-Palestinian Authority (PA) talks.
Hamas, which has refused to recognize Israel, has denounced the direct negotiations between Israel and the PA.
The talks, which resumed in early September after an almost two-year hiatus, came to a halt over the issue of ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
(Press TV)
