Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has set out seven principles for reconciliation talks expected to be held in Cairo, including an end to the fallout from what his document calls the “coup in Gaza,” four sources from Palestinian factions told Asharq Al-Awsat. Fatah and Hamas delegations began preparing for the talks yesterday. The sources, including one from each movement, said Abbas’s document, titled “The Palestinian-Palestinian Path to Palestinian Reconciliation,” calls for “one system, one law and one legitimate armed force.” It also calls for adherence to the Palestine Liberation Organization and its platform, recognizing the PLO as the Palestinians’ sole legitimate representative. The document calls for peaceful popular resistance and a political settlement based on a two-state solution and international resolutions. It proposes a technocratic government appointed by Abbas to govern the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and assigns responsibility for negotiating a comprehensive peace agreement to the PLO. Hamas’s position on the principles is not yet known. A senior Hamas source said the movement was open to talks that would serve what he called the “broader Palestinian interest” and achieve “a genuine partnership aimed at changing the status quo.” Preparations for Palestinian talks Delegations from Palestinian factions are preparing to arrive in Cairo in stages for bilateral meetings that could lead to a broader national dialogue. Fatah is expected to participate after previously declining such a dialogue and refusing to meet with Hamas bilaterally. No arrival dates or dates for the broader dialogue have been finalized. Six sources from different Palestinian factions told Asharq Al-Awsat separately that, under Palestinian and Egyptian arrangements, a Hamas leadership delegation would arrive in Cairo, followed by a Fatah delegation headed by Jibril Rajoub. Other figures already in Cairo, including Azzam al-Ahmad, would join them. Delegations from other factions are also expected, with some of their leaders already in the Egyptian capital. A Fatah source said al-Ahmad had met Palestinian figures in recent days to discuss elections to the Palestinian National Council. He may join the delegation coming from Ramallah for the factional meetings, the source said. Egypt has reservations about holding council elections now without a consensus, the source added. On Abbas’s instructions, Fatah’s Central Committee recently formed a committee to take part in the national dialogue. Rajoub will chair it, with Mohammad Shtayyeh and Majed Faraj as members. Election delay grows more likely The bilateral meetings and any broader dialogue would address Palestinian affairs and internal unity, including legislative elections scheduled for November, the sources said. Their accounts indicated an increasing likelihood of a delay. One source said that, although no decision had been announced, “Israel is likely not to allow the elections to take place.” The source said Israel would seek to block voting in East Jerusalem and carry out military operations in the West Bank to disrupt the elections, while conditions in Gaza were also difficult. Two sources from different factions, one of them left-wing, said the factions recognized the difficulties and saw a need to postpone the vote.
