Syria Today | Abbas and Assad discuss Palestinian reconciliation

Abbas and Assad discuss Palestinian reconciliation

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the Egyptian-mediated reconciliation process between the Palestinian president’s Fatah party and the Hamas movement in Damascus on October 12.

During the meeting, Assad expressed support for reconciliation between the two feuding factions, emphasising national unity will strengthen the Palestinian position in peace talks with Israel.

“No one is happy to see the current divisions continuing,” Abbas said at a press conference following the meeting.

Relations between Fatah and Hamas broke down following the latter’s take-over of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The event prompted Abbas to dissolve the West Bank’s Hamas-led government and form a new administration.

Abbas’ visit to Damascus comes two weeks before Fatah and Hamas delegations are set to hold talks in Cairo aimed at establishing a transitional government accepted by both sides.

Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal, who lives in exile in Damascus, said headway was being made in the reconciliation process.

“We have reached a formula [for reconciliation] and we ask God to give it success,” he said at a press conference on October 12 in Doha, Qatar.

Mashaal suggested Fatah and Hamas release all political prisoners in Gaza and the West Bank and halt media campaigns to undermine each other in order to provide a “positive atmosphere” for reconciliation. He also accused the US of obstructing previous reconciliation attempts between the two sides.

Despite his calls for reconciliation, Abbas did not meet with any Hamas officials during his visit to Damascus.