ID :
185711
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 05:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185711
The shortlink copeid
SHAATH’S VISIT TO GAZA RAISES HOPES
GAZA STRIP, June 1 (Bernama) -- The visit by senior Fatah leader Nabeel Shaath to Gaza last week has raised prospects of more West Bank leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, coming to this coastal enclave.
It was the first visit by a West Bank official to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover in 2007.
Shaath met Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, for the first official meeting in the blockaded Gaza after the two factions signed a reconciliation pact in Egypt early this month.
Youssef Al-Jamal, a Palestinian analyst, regards Shaath's visit to the enclave as a significant step.
To Al-Jamal, the visit will create a positive atmosphere between the two rival factions.
"Shaath’s visit will pave the way for President Abbas to visit
Gaza," he said.
Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip were happy with the Haniyeh-Shaath meeting and hoped other members of the Fatah security forces who left Gaza could return to the Strip.
In 2007, dozens of Fatah members fled to the West Bank through the Erez crossing with Israel and to Egypt after Hamas took over the coastal territories from Fatah, which controls the West Bank.
“We hope that those people would be able to return after the end of the division. Their families eagerly wait for them," said Abedalrahman Al-Khateeb, a Palestinian cloth shop owner.
It was the first visit by a West Bank official to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover in 2007.
Shaath met Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, for the first official meeting in the blockaded Gaza after the two factions signed a reconciliation pact in Egypt early this month.
Youssef Al-Jamal, a Palestinian analyst, regards Shaath's visit to the enclave as a significant step.
To Al-Jamal, the visit will create a positive atmosphere between the two rival factions.
"Shaath’s visit will pave the way for President Abbas to visit
Gaza," he said.
Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip were happy with the Haniyeh-Shaath meeting and hoped other members of the Fatah security forces who left Gaza could return to the Strip.
In 2007, dozens of Fatah members fled to the West Bank through the Erez crossing with Israel and to Egypt after Hamas took over the coastal territories from Fatah, which controls the West Bank.
“We hope that those people would be able to return after the end of the division. Their families eagerly wait for them," said Abedalrahman Al-Khateeb, a Palestinian cloth shop owner.
