Fatah welcomes Hamas pledge to end Palestinian split

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-17 16:13:52|Editor: Song Lifang
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RAMALLAH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement on Sunday welcomed a pledge by Hamas to accept key conditions for ending a decade-old Palestinian political and territorial split, MENA news agency reported on Sunday.

Hamas announced on Sunday that it has accepted key Abbas demands for ending the split.

This includes holding general elections in the West Bank and Gaza, dissolving a contentious Gaza administrative committee and allowing an Abbas-led "unity government," formed in 2014 but until now unable to start operating in Gaza, to finally assume responsibility there.

The announcement came after separate talks by Hamas and Fatah delegations with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo in recent days.

Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed since the militant Hamas drove forces loyal to Abbas out of the Gaza Strip in 2007, a year after defeating Fatah in parliament elections.

The takeover led to rival governments, with Hamas controlling Gaza and Abbas in charge of autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Egypt relayed Fatah demands to Hamas that as a first step, it must dissolve the administrative committee, its de facto government in Gaza, and allow the unity government to take charge.

"We accepted that as a sign of our good will toward reconciliation," said Hamas official Hussam Badran.

"The administrative committee is now dissolved and the government can come to Gaza today to assume its responsibilities and duties," he said.

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