Yemen's Hadi Welcomes Palestinian Reconciliation

Yemeni President ABD Rabbuh Mansur Hadi said Thursday that his country supported a recent reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas, the two main Palestinian factions.



He added that opposition to the deal by the United States and Israel was an indication that the Palestinians were on the right track.



"Achieving [Palestinian] reconciliation is a strategic and historical decision," Hadi said.



"We express our support for the Palestinian cause and reconciliation," he was "ed – by a Gaza cabinet statement – as telling Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh by phone.  



On Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal that aims to end years of divisions between the two leading Palestinian factions.



The deal, welcomed by most Arab states, calls for the formation of a national unity government and the holding of elections.



In Tel Aviv, however, news of the agreement received a cold reception.



Commenting on the deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, had to choose between reconciliation with Hamas and peace with Israel.



Netanyahu added that Hamas only wanted to destroy the self-proclaimed Jewish state.



Relations between Fatah and Hamas had been tense since the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip following deadly clashes with pro-Fatah forces in 2007 – one year after Hamas defeated Fatah in Palestinian legislative polls.



By Mustafa Haboosh



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Gazze