RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas approved the initiative of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel to achieve reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas during his meeting with the committee members Aug. 13 at the presidential residence in Ramallah. The committee is the highest Palestinian political committee within the Green Line, and it includes Arab municipal leaders, Arab party members of the Knesset, representatives of political parties and Arab nonparliamentary political parties. Abbas gave the committee the green light to begin its calls with the parties concerned in the reconciliation case.

Head of the committee Mohammed Baraka said in a press statement Aug. 19, “This initiative was developed and its details were discussed with Palestinian groups concerned with the reconciliation issue, such as Patriots to End the Split and Restore National Unity and the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies - Masarat, and with Palestinian figures such as Munib al-Masri and his group, Edgo, to agree on a joint course of action.” The plan was approved by Abbas during the Aug. 13 meeting.

The aforementioned parties held conferences and discussions about ways to end the division. Masarat has always welcomed influential political parties to discuss their vision about how to end the Palestinian rift. For his part, Masri and his group launched several initiatives and paid visits to the Gaza Strip for that purpose.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/committee-initiative-palestinian-reconciliation-hamas-fatah.html#ixzz4IPH6xlQy