NATIONAL DIALOUGE TO SAVE A PALESTINIAN NATION

Hiyam Noir, PalestineFreeVoice

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Rebuild Palestine For Future Generations
Photo Fady Adwan PFVImages


Feb 26, 2009

" In Cairo ,reconciliation meetings between the two largest Palestinian political factions which began on Thursday,did not have an immediate break trough. It is expected that by the end of March the long awaited Palestinian consensus will be settled.Both Hamas and Fatah has agreed to recover National Palestinian unity, aimed at ending the division, a long deadlock between the two main Palestinian factions,Hamas and Fatah,which outcome was a two year long internal war."

GAZA - In the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday,the Israelis has blocked most of needed shipments of food and fuel, only a bare minimum of shipments is permitted,117 truckloads including 61 loaded trucks with aid from UNRWA ( UN Agency for Palestine Refugees ) and other aid organizations.Karni crossing, used for shipping grain and animal feed, is closed.The Nahal Oz terminal was open for shipment of EU-funded industrial diesel to Gaza’s sole power plant.Meanwhile on Thursday Israeli warplanes continues its bombardments of smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza Strip along the Egyptian border. No personal casualties are reported but property was damaged.Outside the coast of Rafah Israeli naval vessels were shooting at Palestinian fishermen..

In the West Bank on Thursday simultaneously, a vigil was held in the Wadi Al-Ihsein neighborhood in the city of Hebron,marking the 15th anniversary of the massacre of 33 Palestinians by an American-Israeli settler, Baruch Goldstein.The massacre took place on the 27th of February 1994, Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinians praying at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron, the site of the Tomb of the Patriarchs

The demonstration on the West Bank took place nearby the fence surrounding the settlement of Kiryat Arba.Families of the victims, of the massacre along with officials from the Palestinian People’s Party and foreign activists participated in the demonstration.Banners with the names of the victims were carried and 33 candles were lit and torches enlightened. The Israeli occupant declared the area of the demonstration a closed military zone, stopping the traffic and shutting down roads leading to the site of the vigil.Several speeches were held by representatives from Palestinian political factions.A member of the central committee of the Palestinian People’s Party, Fahmi Shahin, said." Our intention was to commemorate those who were killed fifteen years ago in this area in particular, since the area is targeted by the Israeli settlers. We wanted to assure those who are living in the area that we will never forget about them."

A National dialogue the only way to save the Palestinian nation.

In Cairo reconciliation meetings between the two largest Palestinian political factions which began on Thursday did not have an immediate break trough. It is expected that by the end of March the long awaited Palestinian consensus will be settled. Both Hamas and Fatah has agreed to recover National Palestinian unity, aimed at ending the division, a long deadlock between the two main Palestinian factions,Hamas and Fatah,which outcome was a two year long internal war.

Mahmoud Al-Zahhar of Hamas and Azzam Al-Ahmad of Fatah held a joint press conference after officials from the two movements assembled. Al-Ahmad confirmed that his Fatah party and Hamas has decided to form a national consensus government. Both concluded that the division among Palestinians had given the Israelis a chance to exploit the division between Hamas and Fatah, aiming to destroy the peace process and then carry out the recent massacre of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

Five committees will work out a reconciliation platform which contain an election committee,a culture and tolerance committee, a rebuild Palestinian Institutions ( PLO)committee, a reconstruction of Palestine security and police forces committee and a releasing all the prisoners committee.

Al-Zahhar and Al-Ahmad said they would not interrupt in the work of those five reconciliation committees and they would accept recommendations for consensus taken.Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that Hamas would benefit from a reconciliation since Hamas are participating in the Cairo meetings to make a success of the dialogue. During an interview on Al-Jazeera TV channel,Azzam.Al-Ahmad said that,both Hamas and Fatah movements are optimistic regarding the dialogue.Al-Ahmad assured that Fatah do not want to go back to the situation of division, he said that we want the political rift between our people to end.

Two committees has been formed, one in the West Bank and one in Gaza, aimed at following up on the issues of political arrests and media incitement. Hamas and Fatah agreed on Wednesday to release all political prisoners in each others jails in the West Bank and in Gaza. Azzam Al-Ahmad said that Hamas already had lifted the house arrest that was imposed on some Fatah leaders in Gaza. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that there were more than 400 Hamas political prisoners in Palestinian Authority jails, of whom 80 were released this week. He said Hamas is contacting the Fatah leaders, Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmad Qurei to arrange the release of the more than 300 Hamas affiliates, that still are detained by PLO, Fatah security forces in the West Bank.

On Thursday Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian Prime Minister said in and interview with Hamas-affiliated website, the Palestinian Information Center, that; "The dialogue is the bridge toward upholding Palestinian rights, protecting the nation and their sacrifices, and rebuilding the PLO, based on new democratic conditions." Haniyeh cited the Cairo agreement of 2005, the national reconciliation document, the Mecca agreement of 2007, and the higher follow-up committee of the Intifada in Gaza and the committee of coordination between Palestinian factions in the West Bank, as the base for reconciliation with Fatah. Haniyeh said that Hamas and Fatah should be "partners in steadfastness and reconstruction."

"The rebuilding of Gaza is vital Haniyeh said,he also said that the Israelis complex,their ongoing post-election process forming a coalition is holding up Egyptian-brokered negotiations toward a truce in Gaza.The Israelis "changed their minds" - when Hamas and Fatah reached "a common understanding." We are of course with the interests of our own people and we can achieve this interest, but the Israelis retreated and have had some misconception with the Egyptian leadership regarding the truce and the other demands."

"Hamas and Fatah must unite in order to face a likely right wing government in Israel", a leader of the radical Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) said on Thursday.Zuheir Al-Queisi said that the extremist Israeli government will continue to expand settlements in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank. - Meetings held among Palestinian factions are in the interest to all of us, we will empower our resistance culture and rebuild a strong Palestinian resistance community," he said.

Zuheir Al- Queisi concluded that - "Fatah and Hamas should have a huge sense of responsibility towards the legendary steadfastness of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. During the Israelis assaults - which would not be thwarted because of a continued Palestinian division,a temporary division of our internal Palestinian relations," Al-Queisi said, also calling on Arab countries "to exert more efforts to unify the Palestinians. - ""It should be in the best interest of Arab states to see the Palestinian people united."

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