ALGIERS- The Palestinian factions signed an agreement in Algiers, on Thursday, to resolve 15 years of discord by holding elections within a year after months of talks mediated by Algeria.
The leaders of 14 factions, including Fatah and Hamas, held two days of talks in the run-up to an Arab summit in Algiers in November, following months of Algerian mediation.
The signing ceremony took place at the Palace of Nations in Algiers, in the presence of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the State’s top officials, members of the government and diplomatic corps accredited to Algeria.
In this vein, President of the Republic affirmed that the signing of the “Declaration of Algiers” for reunification to achieve the Palestinian national unity is a historic day, pending the establishment of the independent Palestinian State with al-Quds as capital.
In his speech, following the inking of the “Declaration of Algiers” at the Palace of Nations, in Algiers, by the different Palestinian factions, President Tebboune said “it is difficult to speak in such a situation, which comes nearly 40 years after the declaration by mujaheed and combatant, the martyr Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar) of the establishment of the Palestinian State in the same hall and under the same roof.”
“The Palestinian State has gone through setbacks, problems and conspiracies, but, thank God, we are witnessing today a historic day where the situation has returned to normal,” said President Tebboune.
President Tebboune congratulated the Palestinian officials and representatives of the faction “to fulfill the will of the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, al-Quds and the Diaspora, as well as the Algerian people, expressing his wish that “the establishment an independent Palestinian State becomes a reality within the borders of June 1967 and its capital al-Quds.”
The two days of talks follow several other meetings since Algeria launched its initiative in January to mediate between the Palestinian factions. President Tebboune brought together, on July 5 in Algiers, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the recovery of national sovereignty, the President of the State of Palestine, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas and the head of the political office of the Palestinian Movement Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, a historic meeting that took place after a coldness of several years.
In the past few weeks, Algeria hosted representatives of Palestinian factions in separate meetings in an attempt to prepare the groundwork for the upcoming dialogue. Senior Hamas and Fatah delegations arrived in Algiers in early September to prepare for the discussions.
Palestinian observers believe that the dialogue in Algeria affords an important opportunity for the Palestinian factions to reach an agreement and find a unified Palestinian position to confront the Zionist policies.
In December 2021, President Tebboune announced that his country would host a gathering of Palestinian factions to unify the Palestinians.
