CAIRO — Fatah and Hamas both called their latest talks in Cairo positive on Saturday. None of the accounts of the round gives a date for the national conference that Fatah’s delegation chief says the factions agreed to move toward.
Xinhua reported that the two movements announced the end of the second round of Palestinian dialogue, held under Egyptian sponsorship. It came days after Mahmoud Abbas had the Palestinian legislative elections postponed, swapping the planned November vote for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on September 11, 2027, Anadolu Agency reported.
Arab News reported that Fatah delegation chief Jibril Rajoub said the factions agreed to move toward a comprehensive national dialogue conference, and that Egypt would soon send invitations, carrying the date, to 14 factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Rajoub added that Fatah is open to bringing forward the legislative and presidential elections if the factions reach common agreements at that conference.
Hamas’s statement spoke in broader terms. Hamas, Xinhua reported, said its delegation, led by West Bank leader Zaher Jabarin, met Fatah first, then held an expanded meeting with Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the reformist current within Fatah. It called for a shared vision to rebuild and reform the Palestine Liberation Organization so all factions can take part, and said the factions agreed to keep talking until they reach common understandings. The Palestinians have been divided since mid-2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza.
Fatah’s delegation brought a seven-point initiative, Arab News reported, that includes a central government to manage the West Bank and Gaza Strip, agreement to hold elections and the formula “one authority, one law, and one weapon.” The Hamas statement as Xinhua relayed it does not mention weapons. A Hamas official quoted by Arab News called the discussions “fruitful and serious.”
Reports differ on what the round was. Xinhua calls it the second round. Days earlier, a Fatah spokesman, Abdel Fattah Dawla, told Anadolu Agency the meetings were preparatory, expected to last up to two days, and that broader talks could resume October 20, depending on how they went. The National’s sources said the talks would run to the end of the month, not necessarily at leadership level. Arab News put the end of the round on Friday evening, a day before Saturday’s announcements.
Rajoub also warned that “an explosion is coming if the crimes of the settlers and the Israeli attacks in the West Bank continue,” Arab News reported. Saturday also brought an attack on European diplomats in Taybeh, near Ramallah, where Xinhua, citing Kan News, said masked settlers armed with clubs also targeted Palestinian olive pickers.
Whether Egypt’s invitations carry a date, and whether Hamas will join a conference where Fatah has put “one weapon” on the table, are questions none of the reports from Cairo answers.
