Fatah and Hamas Committees to Meet In Cairo This Week

Doha , January 13 (QNA) - Member of Fatah's Central Committee Saeb Erekat praised Sunday the efforts of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in achieving the Palestinian national reconciliation and in reconstruction of Gaza. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) today, Erekat said that a Fatah delegation will visit Cairo in the next two days to hold talks with a delegation from Hamas headed by Azzam Al Ahmed. Erekat added that various committees from both parties will start their work on carrying out the Doha and Cairo agreements. He said that the Doha agreement was pivotal in reconciliation talks, particularly because it solved differences on forming a coalition government. He described recent meetings in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas as positive. He noted that both parties agreed to have Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Head of Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Major-General Mohamed Raafat Shehata meet to discuss a timetable for carrying out the agreements reached in Doha and Cairo. Erekat revealed that implementation of the agreements start with the central elections committee drafting the names of Palestinians eligible for voting in the Gaza strip. Talks will also take place this week on adopting a law for the Palestinian National Council's elections, Erekat said. Abbas would then form a government of technocrats for 90 days to oversee the rest of the reconciliation process, he added. Erekat stressed that a recent meeting in Cairo between a Fatah delegation led by Abbas and a Hamas delegation led by Meshaal went well. He added that the reconciliation was now a top priority for both factions, particularly after Palestine status at the United Nations was upgraded to that of a non-member. Erekat noted that there were no room for differences, adding that they are people under occupation whether in the West Bank or in Gaza or Al Quds. He praised the Qatari role in breaking the deadlock in reconciliation talks. He said that it was the Qatari side that suggested Abbas forming a technocrat government for 90 days to oversee the elections of the Palestinian National Council. The winner of which can form the government, Erekat added. He expressed his appreciation for the role of Qatar in pushing forward the reconciliation talks. He also said that Qatar's commitment to the rebuilding Gaza and uniting the Palestinian people was one of the goals of HH the Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. (QNA)