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Hamas, Fatah hold unity talks

DUBAI: After nearly two years of hostility, leaders of rival Palestinian groups, Hamas and Fatah, have held talks in Cairo which could lead to a process of reconciliation.

Hamas politburo deputy chief Musa Abu Marzuk met Fatah leader and former Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei over the weekend in the presence of Egyptian mediators. Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar also participated in the dialogue.

Talks were held in the backdrop of the conflict in Gaza, where Hamas fighters provided stiff resistance to the Israeli assault. Analysts point out that the meeting is significant as it could eventually lead to Hamas’ formal accommodation in international diplomacy surrounding the Israel-Palestine dispute. Both Mr. Qurei and Mr. Marzuk described the talks as “positive”, Jerusalem Post reported.

The daily said the two Palestinian groups had already arrived at an understanding on the formation of the unity government that would last for two years. PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad would head the government, in which several Ministers from Hamas would be accommodated. However, it would attend only if its activists, held in Fatah’s custody, were released. Egypt is also mediating a durable ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. However, a breakthrough might not be imminent as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has linked the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli prisoner with Hamas, as a condition for the ceasefire. Meanwhile, the contours of new government in Israel, following the recent elections continued to remain hazy. Leader of the Kadima party Tzipi Livni has signalled her unwillingness to join a coalition with the right-wing Likud, with its leader Benyamin Netanyahu as the Prime Minister.

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