Fatah, Hamas to meet after Abbas’ tour to Arab World

PLO Central Committee Member, Azzam al-Ahmad, Wednesday said two meetings between Hamas and Fatah will be scheduled shortly after President Mahmoud Abbas’ tour to the Arab world. Al-Ahmad, talking to Voice to Palestine radio, said the first meeting will discuss methods to implement the reconciliation agreement, while the other will address Abbas’ statements regarding the Palestinian strategy and future, which were positively received by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal. Al-Ahmad also denied allegations that Hamas and Fatah agreed to conduct public elections at the beginning of next year in an attempt to form the technocratic government according to the agreement, saying “they were mere suggestions; Hamas and Fatah have not agreed on them yet.” In a related matter, al-Ahmad announced that a delegation of the Swiss parliament will visit the Palestinian Territory in the near future, following the Palestinian National Council’s participation in the 125th Assembly of the International Parliamentary Unions in Bern, which started on Monday.