Dweik: The Egyptian efforts move towards resolving reconciliation obstacles

Dweik: The Egyptian efforts move towards resolving reconciliation obstacles

Dr. Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC), stated Saturday that the Egyptian efforts to resolve the obstacles in the way of the national reconciliation were progressing.


 


In a press statement published by Safa news agency, Dr. Dweik said that his meeting with the Egyptian delegation on Thursday was very positive and marked by an atmosphere of optimism and openness.


 


He hailed the Egyptian efforts to heal the inter-Palestinian rift, stressing the importance of concentrating pressures on both Hamas and Fatah in this regard on an equal footing.


 


Regarding his position about the formation of a high joint committee to oversee any possible reconciliation agreement and to prepare for legislative and presidential elections, the speaker noted that this committee could be a two-edged sword, explaining that the Palestinian rivals, in the event of their agreement on the formation of this committee, could push towards an end to the division or could deepen the gap if they had bad faith.


 


For his part, Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas official, said Friday that Fatah faction turned against the understandings reached during the previous rounds of the national dialog.


 


Radwan denied at the same time the presence of any political prisoners in Gaza and stressed his Movement’s readiness to release convicts and criminals detained in jails for the sake of the national dialog.


 


He pointed out that an agreement was reached with Fatah on ending the political arrests and releasing detainees in addition to transferring disputed cases to a joint committee to follow up their files in cooperation with human rights experts, but Fatah backtracked on these understandings later.


 


In a press statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC), Hamas official Rafat Nasif accused ex-PA chief Mahmoud Abbas of deliberately aborting any attempt to reach a national reconciliation through his remarks that try to discredit and ridicule the Palestinian resistance, stressing that Fatah is not concerned about the success of the national dialog.


 


Nasif demanded Fatah and the PA in Ramallah to release all political detainees in their jails, considering this step is a prerequisite for the success of the national dialog.