Hawatma meets Egypt’s Foreign Minister in Cairo

Friday September 05, 2008 22:26 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Nayef Hawatma, Secretary-General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), met with Ahmad Abu Al Ghiet, the Egyptian Foreign Minister on Friday, and held talks with him over the efforts to end the internal tension between Fateh and Hamas and efforts to restore the Palestinian national unity. Hawatma was accompanied by delegates of the DFLP.

The meeting comes as part of a series of talks between Palestinian factions and the Egyptian leadership in an attempt to form an Egyptian initiative for a comprehensive Palestinian dialogue in Cairo by October 2008.

The leaders stated that ending the internal divisions and the separation between Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem is the way to achieve liberation and end Israeli aggression and the ongoing Israeli settlement construction and expansion. They added that the Palestinians have the legitimate right for liberation and establishing an independent Palestinian state in the occupied territories, with Jerusalem as its capital. The leaders also affirmed that the refugees should be granted their internationally guaranteed Right of Return.

Both leaders also agreed on the necessity to achieve an Egyptian initiative which aims at resuming internal Palestinian talks, rebuilding and reforming the institutions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority. They also confirmed the need to hold legislative and presidential elections, in addition to holding elections for the National Council of the PLO in Palestine and in exile.

The talks also confirmed the need for a Palestinian consensus to create a transitional government which would replace the government of Dr. Salaam Fayyad in the West Bank and the government of Ismail Haniyya in Gaza.

This transitional government should supervise the preparations for new legislative and presidential election in Palestine. The parties also said that the timing of these elections should be agreed upon during comprehensive Palestinian talks.

arab world | palestinian politics | news report saed at imemc dot org