CAIRO: Egypt has sent official invitations to the Palestinian factions to visit Cairo on Feb. 7 and start a comprehensive national dialogue.
Both Hamas and Fatah announced their intention to participate in the dialogue in order to sign a charter of honor to hold the Palestinian elections on time and to abide by their results.
Representatives of the Palestinian factions will arrive in the Egyptian capital for the talks.
Officials in the two largest Palestinian movements, Fatah and Hamas, said in statements that the Cairo meetings, which will last for several days, will focus on contentious issues and search for consensus.
Fatah officials said the dialogue will focus on mechanisms for the success of the Palestinian elections scheduled for the middle of this year.
Last month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for legislative elections on May 22 and presidential elections on July 31.
These will be the first legislative elections since 2006 and presidential elections since 2005.
“The delegations participating in the dialogue will arrive in Cairo on Feb. 7 and the comprehensive national dialogue will start the following day,” Maj. Gen. Jibril Rajoub, secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, said in a statement.
“We will go to the Cairo dialogue, as President Mahmoud Abbas said, with open minds, in order to reach the results that our Palestinian people wish for,” he added.
Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to the president of Hamas, said in a statement that the head of the movement’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, received an official invitation from Egypt to attend the dialogue with a delegation.
“The leadership of the movement decided that Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau, would lead the movement’s delegation participating in the dialogue,” Al-Nono added.
The call for dialogue comes at a time when the Palestinian issue is undergoing a breakthrough, with US President Joe Biden’s assertion of the US commitment to achieving peace in the Middle East on the basis of the two-state solution.
Al-Arouri explained that the delegations of the Palestinian factions will begin arriving in Cairo to start the dialogue and discuss holding Palestinian elections, at the level of the Legislative Council, the presidency and the National Council.
He stressed Hamas’ adherence to overcoming obstacles and having elections in a way that achieves the supreme interest of the Palestinian people.
“Hamas is ready for the Cairo dialogues,” he added.
