Special Report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
by Xinhua writer Yu Zhongwen
CAIRO, March 14 (Xinhua) -- In the fifth day of the
ongoing national unity dialogue, Palestinian officials on Saturday expressed
their optimism on the future of the talks while admitting there are still
difficulties for reaching a reconciliation deal.
Nabil Shaath, senior Fatah leader and a member of the
Fatah delegation for the talks in Cairo, said Saturday that all Palestinian
factions are optimistic about the future of the talks that started Tuesday in
the Egyptian capital.
"The page of the division among Palestinians is near
to be closed," Shaath told the Egyptian MENA news agency.
Shaath said two of the five Palestinian committees
designed to tackle the issues related to the Palestinian reconciliation have
finished their work on Saturday.
On Tuesday, various Palestinian groups, including
rival Fatah and Hamas movements, resumed meetings to continue the
inter-Palestinian dialogue which started late February under the sponsorship of
Egypt.
The five Palestinian committees, agreed to set up
during the February meetings, started to work on different issues related to the
Palestinian reconciliation on Tuesday.
The five committees are assigned to deal with the
issues of forming a Palestinian national unity government, reforming the
security services, holding elections, reforming the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) and pushing forward reconciliation.
The Palestinian committees were originally planned to
deal with the five major issues from March 10 to 20 in a bid to pave the way for
forming a new unity government that would receive broader recognition of the
international community.
But a Palestinian source said on Friday that the
committees would conclude their work on Saturday, while the pending issue will
be submitted to a higher committee for more discussion.
The committees on the PLO reformation and the
reconciliation have finished their work on Saturday, said Shaath.
The agenda of the other three committees, namely on
the unity government, elections and security has been extended for one day to
expire on Sunday.
The differences between the rival Fatah and Hamas
movements still remain on the programs of the new government and the date of the
presidential and parliamentary elections, said Shaath.
Kayid al-Ghoul, a senior leader of the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), also expressed optimism on Saturday that
the ongoing Palestinian dialogue would lead to a Palestinian agreement.
The extension of the Palestinian committees' talks
signals optimism that the pending issues have more chance to be resolved,
al-Ghoul said in an interview with Radio Sawa.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, vowed on
Saturday that his movement eagerly wants to end the inter-Palestinian rift as
soon as possible.
Al-Zahar told al-Arabiya TV channel that the coming
two days would witness a conclusion of all the outstanding issues between the
rival Fatah and Hamas movements under the Egyptian mediation.
Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Front
Wasil Abu Youssef has said that the higher supervision and guidance committee is
expected to continue to tackle the pending issues, particularly on the unity
government and elections, in the following days.
If the Palestinian factions reach an agreement as planned, a grand ceremony will be held on March 22 under the auspices of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with the attendance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Abu Youssef added.
Palestinian factions disagree on gov't formation, elections
GAZA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian factional leaders for intensive inter-reconciliation talks in Cairo said Saturday they failed to agree on the shape of a unity government and the elections, while making progress on security and reconciliation.
Senior Fatah leader Nabil Shaath said in a statement sent to reporters that factional representatives in five dialogue committees are expected to end their debates and discussions by Saturday evening. Full story
