SYRIA: Hamas leader calls for Palestinian factions to reconcile

Record ID: 279657

  • Title: SYRIA: Hamas leader calls for Palestinian factions to reconcile
  • Date: 6th November 2010
  • Summary: YARMOUK CAMP, SYRIA (NOVEMBER 5, 2010) (REUTERS) HAMAS LEADER KHALED MESHAAL ARRIVING TO DELIVER HIS SPEECH VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE MESHAAL AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHALED MESHAAL, HAMAS LEADER, SAYING: "The better for my brothers in the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement is to invest in this historic smoment to announce the accomplishment of the reconcili
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2010 12:00
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  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAA9YCW8LLWIEJQVLB1E6ENNA0L
  • Story Text: The leader of Hamas calls on Fatah to reconcile during an upcoming meeting between the two rival Palestinian factions.
    Hamas called on Fatah on Friday (November 5) to reconcile, as the two rival Palestinian factions prepare to meet in Damascus next week.
    The two sides have been bitterly divided since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
    But addressing an audience in Syria, the exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, said unity between the two was essential.
    "The better for my brothers in the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement is to invest in this historic moment to announce the accomplishment of the reconciliation and the rebuilding of unity and the political Palestinian position on the basis of the national agreement document of 2006, as well as the rehabilitation of the resistance option and the right of our people to continue the struggle and face the occupation," he said during a festival at Yarmouk Camp.
    In 2007, Hamas took complete control of the Gaza Strip in a brief war with security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. Hamas accused Abbas of conspiring against it while Abbas described what happened as a coup.
    Hamas has deepened its control of the Gaza Strip, building its own bureaucracy and security forces while Fatah extended its influence in the West bank with U.S. support.
    Fatah and Hamas are due to meet in Damascus on November 9.
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