ALBAWABA - In light of the upcoming meeting of the general secretaries of the factions in Cairo at the end of July, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh met in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The meeting was called in response to an official request from the Palestinian President to discuss internal Palestinian issues, particularly those in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the ongoing war with Israel.
In a statement released following the meeting, Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas official said: "During the meeting with our brothers in Fatah, we consulted on several issues related to the Palestinian national impasse and the challenges facing the Palestinian cause,".
He stated that Hamas is eager to meet with all parties in the Palestinian national political scene and that the discussion will focus on his movement's vision for the success of the secretary-general's appointment.
According to Abu Marzook, prior to this Abbas and Haniyeh's meeting, Hamas held a number of meetings with national factions, including parties and elites, to discuss different views and the development of practical and patriotic formulas.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who will be accompanied by a Hamas delegation led by Ismail Haniyeh.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, the second military power movement in Gaza, announced that their representatives will not be attending the meeting unless one "clear condition" is met according to the movement's secretary-general, Ziyad al-Nakhala.
"We will not go to the meeting of the general secretaries in Cairo before the release of our mujahideen brothers in the prisons of the Palestinian Authority," he said.
