Top Fatah official's Gaza visit postponed indefinitely
A visit to Gaza by a top Fatah official who was a key driving force behind the recent Palestinian unity deal has been delayed indefinitely, it was announced on Wednesday.
Azzam al-Ahmed was scheduled to arrive in the Strip today, but the visit seems to have been called off at the last minute.
A Fatah spokesperson said that the meeting "will not take place [on Wednesday] but at a later date to be announced, since time is needed to study what has been agreed with Hamas."
He gave no further cause for the delay.
A Hamas spokesperson confirmed the postponement but stressed that "contacts are ongoing" between the two parties.
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The surprise move comes just a day after Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal reiterated the importance of Palestinian political unity at a speech in Doha.
“We had no other option but to reconcile,” Meshaal said on Tuesday.
“We cannot take a political decision or draft a strategy against the [Israeli] occupation without national reconciliation."
The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority must “take serious national steps to create an atmosphere that helps in boosting confidence in the reconciliation,” he added.
Last week it was also announced by Hamas that a new “consensus government” was expected within days.
Rumours circulated on Wednesday that the Presidential Guard, which is under Abbas’ leadership, was gearing up to take control of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a move agreed by the unity deal.
However, a Facebook post that appeared on Presidential Guard head Ali Qisi’s official page quickly denied the reports.
Hamas and Fatah agreed a reconciliation deal in Gaza last month, ending an intra-Palestinian split dating back to 2007.
The deal calls for the formation of an interim national unity government to serve until legislative elections are held in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile the Middle East Quartet, made up of the US, EU, UN and Russia, are expected to issue a statement saying they will recognise an interim Palestinian government, providing Hamas is not directly represented in the cabinet, according to a broadcast by Israel Radio on 18 May.
They are expected to ask a new Palestinian government to recognise Israel and reiterate its commitment to previously signed agreements with Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has previously stated that the new government will recognise Israel, renounce violence and also be committed to agreements signed with Israel in the past.
Israeli officials have said they will “wait and see” how a new Palestinian government will act but said they will not engage in peace talks with Hamas.
“The reconciliation agreement with Fatah and Hamas was quite a disappointment… but we decided to wait and see what happens on the Palestinian side when a new government is created,” Tzipi Livni, Israeli Justice Minister, told AFP recently.
“I shall not conduct negotiations - direct or indirect - with Hamas,” she added.
An announcement on a unity government may be made this week, with Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad in Gaza on Wednesday to conclude negotiations, according to Bassem Naim, a senior advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who spoke to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
No date has been set for elections in Palestine, although they are expected to take place before the end of the year.
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