MPPM welcomes signing of agreement on Palestinian reconciliation

Last Wednesday, 4th of May, took place in Cairo, the ceremony of ratification of the agreement signed on the eve, puting an end to the division between Fatah, the Palestinian movement that rules the West Bank, and Hamas, the Palestinian movement who controls Gaza Strip.

The MPPM welcomes this initiative, which may constitute a decisive step towards the recognition by the international community of a sovereign Palestinian state, independent and viable, formed within the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The agreement was signed by the representatives of 13 Palestinian resistance movements, in particular, in addition to Fatah and Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Palestinian People Party.

At the end of the ceremony of ratification, took the floor the president of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and the leader of Hamas (residing in Damascus), Khalid Meschal. Abbas said the Palestinians "had turned forever the black page of the division." Meschal said that "the only struggle was against Israel and that the four years of disagreements (with Fatah) fell behind," adding that "the sole purpose (of Hamas) was the establishment of a free and sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital, without settlements, without giving up an inch of land, without giving up the right of return for Palestinian refugees."

The Protocol to the Agreement, concluded on Friday, April 27, also in Cairo, provides for the establishment of a provisional Palestinian government composed of independents and responsible for preparing, within one year, the next legislative and presidential elections.

The ceremony, which took place at the headquarters of the Egyptian secret services, was attended by representatives of the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League.

The former U.S. president Jimmy Carter called for the support of the United States and the international community to implement this agreement, which will help the democratization of Palestine and contribute to the establishment of a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In an opposite register, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement between Hamas - which he accuses of calling for the destruction of Israel - and Fatah "can only cause concern to Israelis, and all those in the world who aspire to reach peace with the Palestinians," urging Abbas to renounce to the reconciliation deal with Hamas and choose peace with Israel.