Hamas Leader: Agreement between Hamas and Fatah in Peace Settlement a Necessity

Nasser al-Sha`er, former deputy Prime Minister in the Hamas cabinet, stressed that any attempt to end Fatah presence in Gaza at the hands of Hamas is neither in favor of Hamas nor the Palestinians.

“Palestinian Liberation Authority (PLA) and Fatah cannot maintain the peace process without Hamas, and Hamas cannot reach peace in Gaza without Fath” he added.

“There are many voices inside Hamas and Fatah aspiring for internal reconciliation, and there must be other voices supporting them,” he added.

Qadrwah Faris, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Club said, “Fatah and Hamas are to blame for the frustration Palestinian people are suffering.”

“There is a trend within the PLA calling for engaging Hamas, but in reality wishing it will not happen so as to justify the charges against them. However, there is a trend within Hamas that doesn’t realize the complications of the Palestinian cause,” he added.

He said that Palestinian unity is inevitable, so is a unified Palestinian political program. But the question is, how much suffering and oppression will intervene this phase.

Regarding the joint meeting on Monday for the first time, Faris said “I know that some may exclaim, but we are not surprised because we are confident that there are those ready for dialogue.”

Sha`er said, “we came here not as negotiators, but as Palestinians willing to discuss the situation of Fatah and Hamas to put an end to the shedding of blood of Palestinians.”

Attempts of mediation between both movements have failed because Fath headed by the Palestinian president- Mahmoud Abbas- calls for restoring Gaza’s status as it has been before Hamas’ taking over the Strip last June.