Fatah to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Stance towards US Hinges on Commitment to Int’l
Resolutions on Jerusalem
Asharq Al-Awsat Monday, 12 February, 2018 - 10:00
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1172761/fatah-asharq-al-awsat-our-stance-towards-us-hinges-commitment-int%E2%80%99l-resolutions

Cairo - Sawsan Abu Husain and Mohamed Nabil Helmy

Attempts to complete the Palestinian reconciliation process, which has
resumed in Cairo over the weekend, have been disrupted by unsettled
disagreements over the Palestinian Authority’s failure to deploy its full
authority over the Gaza Strip, according to Fatah, while Hamas is calling
for easing pressure on the area.

Well-informed Egyptian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a meeting between
the Hamas delegation and the representatives of the Egyptian intelligence
body, in Cairo on Saturday evening, touched on government employees
appointed by Hamas during the period of division, and the PA’s refusal to
acknowledge their rights. The meeting also discussed Fatah’s reservations
regarding the establishment of a security apparatus in Gaza.

Hamas also raised the problem of power shortage, according to the same
sources.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central
Committee, said: “An agreement has already been signed with (Hamas) and must
be strictly implemented.”

He explained that the Palestinian government has not yet imposed its
authority over the entire Gaza Strip, “while (the parallel government) of
Hamas is still operating in the sector.”

Although the source told Asharq Al-Awsat that representatives of the Fatah
movement were not present for the reconciliation talks, he said he expected
members of the movement to join the meetings soon.

“It may be after tomorrow [Tuesday], if consensus was reached on some of the
files under negotiation in Cairo,” the sources said.

In the same context, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with
Al-Ahmad to discuss consultations carried out by the Palestinian side both
at the regional and international levels on the issue of Jerusalem,
spokesman of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said.

He added that discussions focused on the impact of the US decision to
consider Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, on the role of the United
States as a broker of the peace process and the future of a just settlement
to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The Palestinian Authority will not back down before the United States
declares its commitment to the legitimate resolutions on Jerusalem,”
Al-Ahmed told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The United States is part of this society and cannot dictate its will to
everyone by force,” he added.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on Monday in Cairo, where he held
talks with Shoukry.