RAMALLAH
A four-member delegation from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
The delegation – which groups Fatah Central Committee members Sakher Bseiso, Muhammad Al-Madani, Nabil Shaath and Jamal Muheisen – was welcomed by Hamas officials upon arrival.
"An official and popular reception was awaiting the delegation," Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Eita told Anadolu Agency.
The delegation will hold talk with Fatah officials in Gaza on the organizational situation of the movement in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Last month, Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh announced that 2014 would be "the year of Palestinian reconciliation," declaring that all Fatah members who had fled the Gaza Strip in 2007 – when Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave – were welcome to return except those charged with wrongdoing.
In 2007, Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip routed troops loyal to Fatah and Abbas and seized control of the territory.
Continued conflict between Hamas and Fatah, the latter of which holds the presidency of the Palestinian Authority, obliged Hamas to set up its own government in Gaza, while Fatah did the same in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
In 2011, the two factions hammered out a reconciliation deal under Egyptian sponsorship. The following year, the two sides agreed to form a unity government headed up by Abbas to pave the way for parliamentary polls.
The terms of the agreement, however, were never implemented.
Despite their vast differences, particularly over the thorny issue of peace talks with Israel, both governments maintain considerable coordination, especially in the education and health sectors.
By Anees Barghouthy
englishnews@aa.com.tr
