Qatar Congratulates Gaza Pm On Deal Ending Palestinian Rifts

Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Atiyahon Wednesday congratulated Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on a deal to end Palestinian divisions.



"The Qatari foreign minister has sent a cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on the deal to end the [inter-Palestinian] schism," Haniyeh's spokesman Taher al-Nounou told Anadolu Agency in Gaza.



Haniyeh said Wednesday that Hamas and Fatah had signed a deal aimed at ending longstanding divisions.



He said both sides had agreed to the terms of two previous agreements signed in Cairo and Doha.



Under the deal, Haniyeh said, Abbas will immediately begin consultations for the formation of a national unity government with a view to unveiling it within five weeks.



Six months after the formation of the government, presidential and parliamentary polls will be held simultaneously in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Haniyeh added.



Elections for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s national council, he said, would also be held at the same time.



According to the terms of the deal, Abbas has the right to set the dates for the polls, as long as they're held at least six months after the formation of the government.



Haniyeh asserted that both Abbas and KhaledMeshaal, head of Hamas' political bureau, had given the deal their blessings.



In 2011, Hamas and Fatah hammered out a reconciliation deal under Egyptian sponsorship. The following year, the two sides agreed to form a unity government – to be headed up by Abbas – to pave the way for parliamentary polls.



The terms of that agreement, however, were never implemented.



Ties have remained strained between Hamas – which governs the Gaza Strip – and Fatah – which runs the Palestinian Authority – since 2007, when Hamas routed pro-Fatah forces and seized control of the entire strip.



Continued conflict between Hamas and Fatah obliged the former to set up its own government in Gaza, while Fatah did the same in Ramallah in the West Bank.



Earlier this year, Haniyeh declared 2014 to be "the year of Palestinian reconciliation," announcing that Fatah members who fled the Gaza Strip in 2007 were welcome to return, with the exception of those charged with wrongdoing.



By Mustafa Haboosh



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