Fatah Central Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh stressed Monday the Palestinian leadership’s determination to achieve national unity and political partnership.
Speaking in an interview on Palestine TV, al-Sheikh said that President Abbas was determined to achieve national unity and build political partnership based on clear and agreed-upon bases to counter all schemes aimed at liquidating the Palestinian question.
He hailed President Abbas’ decision to convene the recent senior-level meeting of the Palestinian factions in Beirut earlier this month as a “bold and courageous step” towards ending the division, and noted that the meeting outcomes laid down the foundations for upcoming Fatah-Hamas meetings and understandings towards pan-Palestinian national consensus and holding elections.
He reiterated Abbas’ keenness to bring all Palestinian factions together under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and noted that the recent senior Fatah-Hamas meeting, which took place at the Palestinian consulate to Istanbul, serves as a springboard for successful comprehensive national dialogue.
Fatah Central Committee, al-Sheikh added, will convene on Thursday to examine the understandings reached in the Istanbul meeting, and Hamas will convene for the same reason in order to translate the understandings into concrete steps.
Abbas is slated to convene the secretaries general of the factions to announce the “national consensus”, in reference to the vision jointly elaborated by Fatah and Hamas delegations, and set a date for the general selections in consultation with the Central Elections Committee.
Al-Sheikh reiterated that the US administration has imposed a financial siege on the Palestinian people and leadership to “starve and bring them to their knees” and force them to acquiesce to US pressures, which Abbas will continue to resist.
