Hamas on Thursday called for direct talks with Fatah to agree on a unified Palestinian “national strategy”, as the rival movement convened its eighth general conference amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and mounting regional tensions.
In a statement, Hossam Badran, head of Hamas’ Office of National Relations and a member of the group’s political bureau, said the conference represented “an opportunity to achieve a shift in Palestinian internal national relations”.
He said the gathering could contribute to “enhancing readiness and preparedness to confront Israeli plans”, accusing Israel of seeking to “liquidate the Palestinian cause entirely by exploiting international and regional circumstances”.
Badran called on Fatah’s leadership to engage in a “direct meeting” with Hamas after the conclusion of the conference in order to agree on “a Palestinian national strategy on all issues concerning the Palestinian people during this sensitive stage”.
“The time has come to rise above disagreements and the repercussions of the past” and focus on “the present and the future based on national partnership and collective responsibility,” he said.
“It is important to take political and field action commensurate with the sacrifices of the Palestinian people,” he added.
Fatah’s eighth general conference began on Thursday in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, with parallel sessions also taking place in Gaza, Cairo and Beirut.
The three-day conference is expected to elect the movement’s two highest leadership bodies, the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council.
According to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was re-elected as the movement’s leader on the opening day of the conference.
Founded in 1959 under the leadership of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Fatah remains the dominant faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and continues to lead the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
The latest Hamas overture comes amid renewed discussions over Palestinian political unity and the future governance of Gaza following more than a year and a half of Israeli bombardment and military operations in the territory.
Fatah and Hamas have remained deeply divided since 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza following a failed Fatah coup after Hamas narrowly won legislative elections, while Fatah retained authority over parts of the occupied West Bank through the Palestinian Authority.
Despite years of hostility and failed reconciliation efforts, the two groups have engaged in multiple rounds of talks in Cairo and Beijing in recent years aimed at promoting Palestinian unity and discussing post-war arrangements for Gaza.
The renewed call for coordination comes as Palestinians face intensifying Israeli military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel currently occupies up to 60 percent of Gaza, while it has made legislative moves that would see the de facto annexation of much of the occupied West Bank.
