Palestinian factions head to Cairo for reconciliation talks

Leaders of various Palestinian factions headed for the Egyptian capital Cairo on Monday ahead of talks aimed at moving forward with a reconciliation agreement.

Senior figures from 13 political factions — including Gaza’s rulers Hamas and the West Bank-based Fatah — are due to meet on Tuesday for three-day talks, with potential topics of discussion including the formation of a new unity government.

Under an Egypt-brokered agreement reached last month, the Hamas terrorist organization is supposed to hand over civil control of Gaza to the Fatah-led national government on December 1.

A source at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt told AFP that representatives from various factions including Hamas had crossed over on Monday morning.

“The aim of the meeting is to incorporate all the factions as partners and not just spectators as the page of division is folded for the last time,” Azzam al-Ahmed, who heads the Fatah delegation, said in a statement.

The Hamas delegation will be headed by deputy leader Salah al-Arouri and its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar.

Neither Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas nor Hamas chief Ismail Haniya will attend.

Another 11 smaller political factions will also be in attendance.

The most likely source of tension at the meeting will be the future of Hamas’s vast armed wing, although the talks are not expected to lead to a final ruling on the matter.

Bassem Naim, a top Hamas official, said it was impossible for them to consider giving up their weapons.

He argued that in the West Bank where Abbas’s government is meant to have partial self rule, the Israeli army in reality operates with impunity — including in areas nominally under full Palestinian control.

“I think no Palestinian here can accept this model as a model for the security we are looking for,” he told AFP in Gaza.

Likewise, he said Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, would not be willing to consider recognizing Israel at this time.

For the Israelis and the Americans, however, such a situation would be unacceptable.

Both have said they would reject any government including Hamas unless the Islamists gave up their weapons.

The agreement signed in Cairo last month is ambiguous about the future of Hamas’s arms.

For this reason, Naim thinks the Egyptians will skirt around security in this meeting and focus on “how to achieve practical steps in the reconciliation process, mainly in the civil sector, government, ministers.”

Among the other topics that could be discussed is the formation of a new unity government and even elections.

There have been no Palestinian parliamentary elections since 2006, when Hamas surprised Fatah.

The international community refused to accept the Hamas victory — leading to vicious disputes and the movement’s eventual violent seizure of Gaza.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel and the United States.