Palestinians rejoice Fatah-Hamas unity

Palestinians have once again held rallies to celebrate the signing of a unity deal which put an end to years of division between leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Friday rallies were held in at least three West Bank cities — Ramallah, Al Khalil (Hebron) and Tulkarem, AP reported.

Similar rallies were held on Wednesday after the signing of the reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah.

Thousands of Hamas supporters took to the streets chanting, “O Abbas, O Haniyeh, we want national unity,” and “The Islamic resistance movement salutes Abu Mazen,” in reference to acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

The streets of the West Bank cities were filled with green flags of Hamas as demonstrators chanted slogans welcoming the reconciliation deal.

People in the town of Bil’in, which holds weekly protest rallies against what they commonly describe as ‘the Israeli apartheid wall,’ carried a coffin to symbolize the death of the Palestinian division.

The Israeli wall, which has been reportedly financed by the US, has annexed around 60 percent of Bil’in, a village in the Ramallah district, to build illegal settlements. Villagers in Bil’in have held non-violent anti-wall demonstrations for more than six years now.

Many countries consider the wall, built on occupied Palestinian land, as illegal.

The unity deal comes as the UN General Assembly is expected to discuss the establishment of an independent Palestinian state during a meeting in September.