Rival Palestinian political factions have not agreed where or when they will hold the next round of reconciliation talks, and Fatah is blaming Hamas for obstructing the deal.
The head of Fatah's reconciliation team, Azzam Al-Ahmad, told Ma’an radio that the next round of talks had not been agreed on yet, while Executive Committee member Nabil Sha’ath said Friday the teams were considering the Gaza Strip.
“If we want dialogue, why shouldn’t we meet in the Gaza Strip,” said Nimir Hammad, an aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, in a phone interview Tuesday evening.
In the most recent reconciliation meeting, Hamas and Fatah agreed to arrange the next meeting by the end of November “and not right after Eid Al-Adha and Hamas knows that,” Al-Ahmad pointed out. “We told them that Fatah's Revolutionary Council would be holding meetings and after that we would call them,” he added.
Commenting on remarks from Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardaweel, who said his party was ready to sit with Fatah anytime and anywhere to finalize reconciliation deal, Al-Ahmad said, “We really regret it when we hear one of Hamas' leaders talking like the Israelis.”
Al-Ahmad highlighted that he met with Hamas leader Osama Hamdan in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sunday and discussed with him the appropriate timing for the final meeting and the topics to be discussed in that meeting.
Expressing Fatah's willingness to finalize a deal, Al-Ahmad said, “We are ready to hold a dialogue session live on air so that all the Palestinians can listen and judge. We don’t want to to continue to meet behind closed doors, and come out after each meeting and tell people things that did not happen.”
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