A delegation from Fatah movement will arrive in Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian officials on reconciliation.
Fatah's Executive Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad said the delegation will complete intra-Palestinian reconciliation consultations and will discuss what Egyptian officials are offering and Hamas’ response to the Egyptian paper.
Ahmad hoped the movement's response would be positive, indicating that then they, “will agree with the Egyptians on the next step.”
Egyptian officials met with two delegations from the Popular and Democratic fronts, and will meet with Jihad and Hamas delegations later on.
Egypt-sponsored talk between the Palestinian factions and Israel were suspended last month after President Mahmoud Abbas threatened that he would not allow the truce in Gaza to hold because he believed that it would pave the way for a separation from the West Bank.
Abbas rejected Fatah's participation in the talks and warned of imposing certain measures if Hamas reaches a separate deal with Israel. He later told Egyptian officials that he would completely stop funding the Strip if the deal was reached.
Abbas first wanted to ensure the reconciliation will succeed because the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was the only party authorized to sign an agreement with Israel.
Initially, the President insisted on signing a reconciliation agreement before discussing the truce.
Fatah handed Egypt a detailed paper on reconciliation, insisting on comprehensive empowerment in Gaza, including security, justice, land authority, tax collection and crossings management.
Hamas rejected Abbas's position on the truce and rejected his demand to hand over the entire Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority for reconciliation.
Fatah official condemned Hamas' objection to Fatah's response, saying it is nothing new.
"We can not fall into the trap of the Israeli approach adopted by Hamas to proceed with negotiations without reaching results," he said.
Ahmad added that PLO and Fatah support any deal provided that it is preceded by reconciliation, “even if by a quarter of an hour”, and should be done through the legitimate government.
