Palestinian NGOs launch campaign against internal split

Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) announced on Monday that it will launch a national campaign in the Palestinian territories seeking an end to internal political strife, said an official from the Palestinian NGOs.

The new initiative is sponsored by local human rights groups from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It aims at protecting the general freedoms and restore the national unity between the two territories, according to Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs.

"The initiative is supported by about 200 influential independent personalities and nearly 280 legal and rights organizations in a bid to form a pressure group" to end more than two years of political power struggle between Islamic Hamas movement and president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, said the official.

The internal crisis has been serious since June in 2007 when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and seized control of the Gaza Strip, widening political split with the Fatah-ruled West Bank.

Al-Shawa told Xinhua that the initiative's would start after the end of Ramadan month (On Sept. 22) and will last for three months. The plan focuses on utilizing local media and forming public support for its goals.

The campaign will also address the effects of the split, especially the crackdown Hamas and Fatah exchanges against their supporters, clashes and high restrictions on public freedom, al-Shawa said.

"The Hamas-Fatah fighting violates the Palestinian law and harms the Palestinian causes," noted al-Shawa. Meanwhile, the majority of the Palestinian factions supported the initiative except Hamas and Fatah.