Abbas Extends Hand To Hamas On 2017 Reconciliation Deal
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that he would only accept full reconciliation in accordance with the 2017 agreement.
“We seek the success of the reconciliation, but based on one law, one government and one legitimate weapon, without the presence of militias,” Abbas said at the opening of the 29th session of the central committee on Wednesday. “There is no state in Gaza nor a state without Gaza,” he stressed.
Abbas accused Hamas of rejecting reconciliation. “In principle, Hamas does not have intentions for reconciliation … Some consider the issue to be solely humanitarian , as if the suffering of the people in Gaza started has just started,” he said.
In his speech, Abbas expressed support to the popular resistance and called for confronting Israel’s plans to displace Palestinians in Jerusalem and the Khan al-Ahmar region. “We must win in Khan Al-Ahmar and we will not allow them to pass their plans,” he said.
The meeting of the central committee is the first since the Palestinian National Council specified the committee’s powers in May.
Palestinian officials said that the outcome of the session would mainly include decisions on defining the relation with occupation forces, adding that the central committee would decide on the gradual withdrawal from all agreements signed with the occupation, including civil affairs and joint security and economic arrangements.
The Palestinian national council had announced that the agreements of Oslo, Cairo and Washington were no longer valid, stressing that the main objective was the independence of the state of Palestine, which requires transition from state governance to the consolidation of sovereignty.
The Popular and Democratic fronts, which belong to the PLO, boycotted the session, in addition to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The factions accused Abbas of monopolizing decision-making.
