Egypt sent official invitations to the Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo on Feb. 8, to hold a comprehensive national dialogue that would see the signing of “a code of honor” to hold the Palestinian elections on time.
Fatah and Hamas movements, who confirmed receiving the invitations on Monday, are among 14 factions that are expected to participate in the conference.
The secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, Major General Jibril Rajoub, who will head the Fatah delegation, said: “We will go to the Cairo dialogue, as President Mahmoud Abbas said, with open minds, in order to achieve the results that our Palestinian people wish for and that serve our just cause.”
The media advisor to the leader of Hamas, Taher Al-Nounou, confirmed that his leadership has decided that the deputy head of the political bureau, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, would lead the movement’s delegation, stressing that the meetings would be attended by all Palestinian factions.
The Palestinians are preparing for the first general elections in 16 years, to be held in May for the Palestinian Legislative Council, then for the presidency and to be followed by the elections of the National Council of the PLO.
The Palestinians hope that these elections would pave the way for unifying their institutions in the West Bank and Gaza.
In remarks on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on all citizens, who are eligible to vote in the scheduled general elections, to update their data and register their names in the dedicated platforms. He also urged the “various national actors to join hands in the process of restoring democracy in Palestine and guarantee the success of the historical national achievement.”
