Palestine Groups Sign Reconciliation Deal In Major Reformation

by Peoples Dispatch

Major Palestinian groups have agreed to try and end their years-long disagreements and form a united National Council in order to put up a joint fight against the Israeli occupation. The reconciliation deal was reached in the Algerian capital Algiers on Thursday, October 13. Major groups that signed the “Algerian declaration” include Fatah, Hamas, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The deal was reached after two days of talks under the mediation of the Algerian government. In total, the deal was signed by leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, including Azzam al-Ahmad from Fatah, Ismail Haniyeh from Hamas, and PFLP Secretary General Talal Naji. Other factions that signed the deal include the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) and the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP).

The reconciliation deal calls for all factions to resolve their differences and disputes by holding legislative and presidential elections in all occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, within a year. It recognizes the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole representative of the Palestinian people and calls for the formation of its National Council with representatives of all the signatories to the agreement within a year.