Palestine factions begin talks in Cairo

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have begun a fresh round of direct talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to revive their unity government.

Head of Palestinian Fatah delegation, Azzam al-Ahmad, and Hamas deputy leader, Musa Abu Marzouk, began the two-day meeting in Cairo on Wednesday.

The talks are aimed at “the return (of the unity government) in the Gaza Strip and the implementation of its authority without obstacles,” said al-Ahmad.

The negotiations come ahead of talks with Israel in the last week of October over a long-lasting truce following Tel Aviv’s 50-day war in the Gaza Strip.

On April 23, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which includes Fatah, pledged to settle their differences and form a unity government. Under the long-awaited deal, Hamas and Fatah established the unity government in June.

However, tensions between the two sides have recently escalated as Fatah, under international pressure, failed to meet its obligation to pay the salaries of 45,000 employees in the Gaza Strip.

Tensions further increased after the President of the Palestinian national unity government, Mahmoud Abbas, threatened to end the administration and accused Hamas of running what he called a parallel government in Gaza.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006. The dispute marginalized Hamas governance to the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. Fatah, however, set up headquarters in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have expressed anger over the formation of the unity government by Hamas and Fatah.

Israeli officials are pushing for the total disarmament of the Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas.

The Tel Aviv regime started pounding Gaza in early July. Some 2,140 Palestinians, mostly civilians including women, children and elderly people, were killed in the Israeli onslaught. Around 11,000 others were injured.

GMA/AB/SS