Haneyya: We will not accept conditions to implement the reconciliation

Deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau Ismail Haneyya said that his movement “will not accept” imposing any conditions on it to implement the Palestinian reconciliation agreement.

He called for according priority to national interests and putting an end to the internal division on the basis of “no winners or losers” without any further delay.

Haneyya added, in an interview with “Al-Khaleej Online” on Friday, that the intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement was signed after long years of negotiations, and, supposedly, had discussed all issues that needed to be settled, confirming that it is not acceptable to put any new conditions.

He went on: “we should work for the reconciliation on the basis of no winners or losers, and to put the country’s interests before any other considerations. Whoever thinks otherwise or exploits any conditions for his own interest is completely mistaken”.

Haneyya denied that anyone has asked his movement to implement any requirements to reactivate the reconciliation agreement with Fatah.

He also pointed out that Hamas feels that there are stalling and delay in implementing the items of the reconciliation agreement, calling for an end to this delay in order to serve the interests of the Palestinian people who have been longing for reconciliation and unity.

Haneyya welcomed the formation of a Fatah delegation to resume talks with Hamas, stressing that his movement welcomes the talks’ resumption on the basis of honest and exact implementation of the signed reconciliation agreement.

Fatah movement announced earlier that it formed a delegation to meet Hamas officials in order to solve all the disputes between the two movements.

Hamas’s spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri said in a press statement he issued earlier this week: “Soon, a meeting will be held between Hamas and Fatah to discuss the implementation of the reconciliation agreement items and to resume the dialogue to end the division.”

Hamas and Fatah signed last April a reconciliation agreement to end the Palestinian division, hold legislative and presidential elections and National Council elections simultaneously, and form a national consensus government.

On 2nd June, the formation of a Palestinian unity government was announced and the ministers were sworn-in before President Mahmoud Abbas in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah.

In another context, Haneyya said: “Rebuilding Gaza is a right for the residents whose houses were destroyed during the Zionist aggression on the Strip, and a natural outcome that should be carried out without any obstacles”.

He stressed that the Palestinians whose houses were destroyed shouldn’t pay the consequences of any political dispute, adding that he refuses extorting the Gazans and imposing requirements or political obstacles as conditions to start the reconstruction.

He mentioned that Hamas has already started providing a 30-million- dollar urgent aid for the residents whose houses were destroyed so as to alleviate their suffering.

Israel launched an aggression on the Gaza Strip on the 7th July which lasted for 51 days and resulted in the death of 2,154 Palestinians, wounding about 11,000 others and completely destroying 9,000 houses, according to official Palestinian data.

The Palestinian Economic Council for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip said the total cost of the reconstruction process is about 7.8 billion dollars.

A truce between the Palestinian factions and Israel was reached on 26th August by Egyptian mediation, including a ceasefire from both sides, opening all the crossings of the Gaza Strip, allowing entry of reconstruction materials to the Strip and expanding the fishing zone to six miles instead of three.