Syria Today | Syria pushes for Palestinian reconciliation

Syria pushes for Palestinian reconciliation

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Damascus on June 20.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, the Palestinian president’s meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington last May, and ongoing Egyptian mediation efforts between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Khaled Meshaal’s Hamas movement, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

“We agree with Syria that the dialogue [between Hamas and Fatah] should succeed,” Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdainah told reporters in Damascus following the meeting.

Egypt set July 7 as a deadline for finding a solution between the rivalling factions. Abbas’s visit to Damascus is the second since May. During the visit, the Palestinian president did not meet with any Hamas representatives. Meshaal did, however, meet with key Fatah negotiator Saeb Erekat ahead of Abbas’s visit at the request of Syria, the Greek news agency AKI reported on June 22.

Palestinian National Council member Ali Badwan told AKI the meeting was a “positive step” and had taken place in the presence of a member of the Syrian government.

He added that Damascus had reiterated its calls on the factions to put an end to their divisions and to “contribute to Egyptian [mediation] efforts in order to obtain positive results”. He also said that Erekat had praised Syria for organising the meeting between the two factions.

Despite the meeting, Badwan cautioned that while Hamas “is open to dialogue”, it is not willing to confirm it will sign an agreement with Fatah in Cairo on July 7. “There are still many contrasting questions that must be discussed,” he said.