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February 26, 2009

Fatah, Hamas Agree on Path to Unity Government
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=228B7DC:A6F02AD83191E160671C2F8F000F3AEBD937473925D9872C&
 
Deal signed in Cairo aims to heal divisions and create unity government 
Fatah's Ahmed Qurei (l) and Hamas' Mussa Abu Marzug speak during their
meeting in Cairo, 26 Feb 2009Rival Palestinian factions, including Fatah
and Hamas, have signed a deal in Cairo aimed at healing their divisions
and creating a unity government. Senior Fatah official and former
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei told reporters Thursday both
sides believe in the importance of ending their internal fighting and
rebuilding the institutions that have been shattered during the rift of
the last several years. He said they have set up five committees to
handle different issues - including one to work on forming a unity
government, and another to focus on rebuilding and reforming the
Palestinian security services. The deal comes ahead of a donor
conference next week on aid to the Gaza Strip. Some participants say
they will not give money to Hamas, which controls the Palestinian
territory, as they consider it a terrorist group. Qurei said the
committees will start working on !
 March 10 and finish with recommendations by the end of March. They will
include representatives of Fatah and Hamas, as well as the other 10
Palestinian factions that took part in the Cairo talks. One of the five
committees will focus on preparing for presidential and legislation
elections, another on reforming the Palestinian Authority, and one more
on building national reconciliation. The factions met Thursday with
Egyptian mediator and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Suleiman urged
them to create a unified Palestinian government to oversee the
rebuilding of the Gaza Strip and engage in talks with Israel. Suleiman
added that unity will help Palestinians reach their national goals
rather than be pawns in regional power games. Hamas and Fatah have led
competing governments since Hamas members, elected in 2006, seized
control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007, confining the moderate party's
authority to the West Bank. Meanwhile, U.S. Mideast envoy George
Mitchell met Israeli officials!
  in Tel Aviv Thursday on his second visit to the country since taking 
office last month. The Obama administration has promised an aggressive
push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Mitchell arrived in Israel
from Turkey, where he called Ankara a crucial U.S. ally and an important
force for peace in the Middle East given its close ties with Israel and
Arab nations. Mitchell is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Fatah party in the West
Bank on Friday. He has no plans to meet with Hamas, which Washington
considers a terrorist group.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.


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