Gaza, Jan 17 (IANS) Leaders of rival Palestinian parties and Algerian officials started a meeting on resuming reconciliation dialogue in Algiers, officials said.
The officials said that leaders of the Fatah party and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) met with Algerian officials to prepare for a Palestinian national dialogue that will later include leaders of other factions, reports Xinhua news agency.
Fayez Abu Eitta, Palestine’s ambassador to Algeria, told the Palestinian official agency (WAFA) that the Fatah delegation was headed by Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Executive Committees of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Fatah Central Committee.
Meanwhile, Hamas movement in Gaza said in a press statement that its delegation included two members of its political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, and Hussam Badran.
The two rival Palestinian factions were invited by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to visit Algiers.
The Palestinian division began in 2007 following Hamas’s violent takeover of the besieged Gaza Strip, routed the security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas and cracked down on his Fatah Party.
The two movements have formerly engaged in numerous discussions with Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, in a bid to reach a comprehensive reconciliation agreement.
However, all the mediation efforts have failed so far.
–IANS
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