(Ma’an) – A conference organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to launch a campaign aimed to restore national unity was canceled by Hamas on Saturday an hour before it was scheduled to take place in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City.
Senior PFLP official Jamil Majdalawi said a preparatory committee went to the hall at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society where the conference was set to take place, to find Hamas-affiliated security notifying those who arrived -- including reporters -- that the conference had been either cancelled or postponed.
Campaign organizers confirmed they had previously obtained written approval from Hamas security services to hold the conference.
"A conference to be held in a hall behind closed doors wouldn't need approval, but despite that we obtained approval to avoid any possible pretexts to prevent the conference from being held," they said.
The organizers highlighted that the founding assembly of the conference included participants from across the Palestinian political spectrum including Hamas.
The campaign was initiated by a group of Palestinian scholars, writers, journalists, and politicians in an attempt to end the rivalry between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.
The left-wing PFLP held series of rallies in February across the Gaza Strip calling for national reconciliation, with speakers saying that disunity had led to the coastal enclave's "disastrous situation."
PFLP Central Committee member Muhammad Tuman called on Palestinian political organizations at the time to put aside "factional interests and give priority to national unity, which will provide protection to the ongoing intifada," referring to a wave of unrest that has swept the occupied Palestinian territory beginning in October.
No comments:
Post a Comment