Egypt to push for reconciliation pact amid growing Palestinian disputes

by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly

GAZA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has intensified on Monday its efforts to speed up declaring an inter-Palestinian reconciliation pact as political dispute between rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and Gaza Strip-based Islamic Hamas movement is still going on, a senior Fatah official said.

Fatah party's central committee member Azzam el-Ahmad told reporters that Egypt has kept holding contacts with both groups to speed up a reconciliation deal following disputes over postponing a debate on a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) fact-finding report on Israel's war on Gaza last winter.

Upon Hamas leaders' request, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit announced on Sunday that the declaration of the reconciliation pact, which was due on Oct. 25, will be postponed for a few weeks. The deal is expected to be signed after the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Adha in late November.

El-Ahmad revealed that his party received a new written Egyptian document proposing to sign the reconciliation pact on Oct.15. However, Hamas movement strongly denied what el-Ahmad stated and accused Fatah party of "slander and lies."

"President Abbas received a printed official copy of the Egyptian proposal to achieve reconciliation," said el-Ahmad, adding "the Egyptian paper proposes advancing the date for signing on the pact to Oct. 15 and delaying the official ceremony for the declaration of the pact until late November."

He said that each faction, including Fatah and Hamas, will be unilaterally signing on the Egyptian-drafted reconciliation agreement, "and after Eid ul-Adha holiday, all Palestinian factions will be attending an official celebration in Cairo to sign and declare the reconciliation pact."

El-Ahmad's statements are similar to an Egyptian proposal, presented to a senior Hamas delegation, which held talks in Cairo on Saturday with senior Egyptian security officials. Egypt presented the proposal to end the crisis right after Hamas delegation officially requested to delay the reconciliation pact.

Hamas justifies its request to postpone the declaration of reconciliation to the UN fact-finding controversial report, which accused both Israel and Hamas for committing war crimes against civilians during a 22-day Israel war on the Gaza Strip that ended on Jan. 18.

El-Ahmad said that his party would study the Egyptian proposal in consultation with other factions in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) "to take a proper unified decision," adding "our response to the proposal would be certainly positive."

He added that one of the Egyptian proposal's major points is that President Mahmoud Abbas issues a presidential decree on Oct. 25 deciding that the general, presidential and legislative elections will be held in the Palestinian territories on June 28 next year.