Rival bereaved families in Gaza make peace at reconciliation ceremony

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-15 02:27:43|Editor: Song Lifang
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GAZA-RIVAL BEREAVED FAMILIES-RECONCILIATION CEREMONY

Rival Palestinian families in Gaza, which lost children in the internal fighting between Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party in 2007, take part in a reconciliation ceremony in Gaza city on Sept. 14, 2017. About 6,000 people, including 14 families out of 400 families which had children killed in the internal fighting, attended the peace ceremony, which was sponsored by the joint social reconciliation committee in Gaza, which includes the two rival groups' representatives. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)

GAZA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Rival Palestinian families in Gaza, which lost children in the internal fighting between Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party in 2007, made peace at a reconciliation ceremony on Thursday.

About 6,000 people, including 14 families out of 400 families which had children killed in the internal fighting, attended the peace ceremony, which was sponsored by the joint social reconciliation committee in Gaza, which includes the two rival groups' representatives.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, said in his opening speech that the reconciliation had been accomplished between the 14 families.

Around 400 Palestinians, either belonging to Hamas or Abbas security forces, were killed during weeks of internal fighting in Gaza in 2007, shortly before Hamas violently seized control of the enclave.

"We started today with the social reconciliation in cooperation with the joint national social reconciliation committee," said Ahmad Bahar, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

"The PLC supports and backs any real initiative to achieve reconciliation. Hamas movement, which has a high ranking delegation in Cairo, is fully ready to promote the process of reconciliation," Bahar added.

"I call on Fatah movement and the Palestinian Authority to positively respond to the efforts and finalize the reconciliation," he noted.

Nasser Doghmosh, a senior Fatah leader and member in the joint social reconciliation committee, told the ceremony that his movement is committed to the understandings reached in Cairo in 2011 to end internal split and achieve full reconciliation.

Fares Abu Qadoos, spokesman of the 400 bereaved families, said all the families are keen to reconcile and push forward towards reconciliation.

"They expressed their readiness to forgive despite losing their beloved children for the sake of ending the internal split and living a better life," he said.

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