Fatah rejects Turkish mediation offer

By MOHAMMED MAR’I | ARAB NEWS

Published: Apr 13, 2011 00:25 Updated: Apr 13, 2011 00:25

RAMALLAH: A senior Fatah official on Tuesday said that his movement rejected a Turkish offer to hold partial elections in a bid to end the internal Palestinian split.

Azzam Al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah Central Committee and the chief of its delegation to the reconciliation talks with Hamas, said in a press statement that Turkey offered to hold a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Istanbul to discuss a reconciliation agreement between their movements.

Al-Ahmed added that Turkey “proposed holding elections of the Palestine National Council and postponing the parliamentary and presidential elections.”

The Fatah official said his movement rejected the offer “since the elections have to be comprehensive.”

The Fatah official said the meeting with Meshaal will be considered a move which nullifies the Egyptian document of understanding between Hamas and Fatah formed during former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

Hamas suggested postponing the presidential elections to a later date. Palestinian sources said that Abbas rejected Hamas’ proposal explaining he believes postponing presidential elections will cause those opposing a national reconciliation dialogue to declare him an illegal president, thereby compromising his ability to represent the Palestinian Authority in reconciliation talks.

He added that “Abbas willing to visit Gaza Strip to end the internal split.” Al-Ahmed said that Abbas welcomed the offer of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to accompany him during the visit to Gaza Strip.

In mid March, Abbas announced that he is ready to go to Gaza Strip to end the internal split and to form an independent government. Abbas said he would not restart national reconciliation dialogue with Hamas, because the controversial issues had been discussed several times in the past.

Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, routed pro-Abbas forces, ousted his Fatah movement and took over Gaza Strip. Abbas consolidated his rule in the West Bank, widening political rift with Gaza besides the geographical split.

Since then, representatives of the two parties held several meetings in Arab countries to solve the crisis, but failed to reach agreement over the main sticking point: security.

In late September, the two movements reached a paper of “understandings” in a meeting held in Damascus related to the restructure of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and general elections.

Palestinian and Arab initiatives, mainly Egypt, failed to bring the two rivals to a reconciliation deal that ends their split and lead to holding general elections in the Palestinian territories.

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