South Africa renews efforts to help unite Hamas, Fatah
Three groups are joining forces in hopes of ending the Palestinian division.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — In an effort to end the nine-year division between Hamas and Fatah, South African Ambassador to Palestine Ashraf Suleiman will soon meet with groups that have developed initiatives toward that goal.
Suleiman is expected to start talks soon with Patriots to End the Split and Restore National Unity and the Palestinian Center for Policy Research & Strategic Studies (Masarat). He will seek to combine their initiatives with one recently revived by Awad Abdel Fattah, the general secretary of the National Democratic Assembly, along with activists and advocates for the Palestinian cause in South Africa, under the supervision of the Institute of Palestine and South Africa.
On Sept. 7, Abdel Fattah met with Suleiman to discuss the upcoming meeting, the date of which has not yet been set.
South Africa joined the Palestinian reconciliation and national unity efforts by sponsoring a South African initiative two years ago without much traction, but this year the effort has shown promise, as two Palestinian dialogue sessions were held in April and July in Cape Town. The sessions involved representatives of Palestinian factions, intellectuals, media personnel and independent figures.
