A meeting between various Palestinian political factions held in the Egyptian coastal city of Alamein on Sunday ended with no tangible reconciliation between groups based in the Gaza strip and those based in the West Bank.
In a statement made to Wafa news agency, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the 2007 Battle of Gaza, during which Hamas militants took over the Gaza strip and removed Abbas' West Bank-based Fatah party from the enclave.
The battle, which Mr Abbas called a "coup", marked the beginning of a political rift between the parties based in the two main Palestinian territories, which has remained ever since.
Sunday's meeting was held with the aim of reconciling all parties under one banner amid a marked increase in Israeli aggression in Palestinian territories following Benjamin Netanyahu's return to the post of Prime Minister in December.
Mr Abbas was received by Maj Gen Abbas Kamel, director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, at his residence in Alamein on Sunday.
Mr Abbas arrived in the coastal city on Saturday night. After chairing Sunday's talks, he is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Monday, according to Wafa.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Gaza-based Hamas, also arrived with his delegation on Saturday.
Sunday’s talks were boycotted by the prominent Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction. The Gaza-based militant group's leader Ziyad Al Nakhalah made its participation conditional on the release of detainees by Palestinian authorities in the West Bank.
PIJ denounced “continued political detention and prosecution of the resistance”, speaking to AFP on Saturday.
The talks were also boycotted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Some analysts were cautiously optimistic that Sunday’s meeting would reach a semblance of unity for the Palestinian groups who have come under increasing pressure from the Israeli right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to a tally by the AP, 160 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the year, either during military raids on refugee camps or by Israeli settlers taking land.
“The success of Sunday’s meeting is going to depend heavily on the participants’ ability to make compromises,” Khaled Okasha, a leading political analyst and the general manager of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies, told The National on Sunday.
“Being that it is the first meeting of its kind in years in addition to the fact that increased Israeli aggression has created a tremendous impetus to reach Palestinian unity.”
Mr Abbas and Mr Haniyeh met in Ankara last week for talks hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who maintains a good relationship with both sides.
Following the meeting, which took place behind closed doors, Mr Erdogan stated that his government was committed to reaching a reconciliation between the groups.
Mr Abbas and Mr Haniyeh also met in Algeria last year, their first public talks in more than five years.
In October, both factions signed the “Algiers Declaration”, pledging to hold elections within a year for the presidency and for the Palestinian Legislative Council, which acts as a parliament for Palestinians in the occupied territories.
One point of contention that has maintained the rift between groups based in the Gaza Strip and those based in the West Bank is the recognition of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the Islamist movement has been at odds with Mr Abbas’s secular Fatah bloc, which administers Palestinian-run areas of the West Bank that Israel has controlled since 1967.
Hamas and PIJ have repeatedly refused to allow the PLO, which is led by Hamas’s rival faction Fatah, to take the lead on managing affairs inside the densely populated enclave.
Following Sunday's meeting, Mr Abbas stressed the importance of unifying behind the PLO, adding that it is unacceptable for any Palestinian to oppose the organisation.
Separation between the various ruling factions in Palestinian territories has made it easier for Israel to attack them individually, Mr Okasha said. “The Palestinians have realised that to stay separated means to be more vulnerable to the aggression of the extremist Israeli government that is in power now,” he added.
A planned presidential election in 2021 was cancelled by Mr Abbas, cited Israel's prevention of voting in East Jerusalem.
However, Hamas has also refused to co-operate with the Palestinian National Authority to hold in elections in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has hosted repeated rounds of talks between the factions hoping to reach unity, as well as brokering ceasefires between the Israeli security forces and Gaza militants.
“The Egyptian side has exerted a tremendous amount of effort to reconcile the Palestinian groups and it will continue to do so but the ball is in the Palestinians' court and all eyes are on them today to see if they will be able to table their disagreements to hold a presidential election and stand up to Israeli aggression,” Mr Okasha said.
“I think Palestinian factions have also started to confront the fact that there will be little help with their situation from the US or other foreign powers.
“The US might have got a little bit more critical towards Israeli aggression in its public discourse, but such criticisms have little effect on the ground and are little more than lip service.
“The US is clearly still aligned with Israeli interests in the region.”
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
SUZUME
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Results
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m; Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Greeley, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Marzaga, Jim Crowley, Ana Mendez.
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Jawaal, Jim Crowley, Majed Al Jahouri.
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Ashras, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sour%20Grapes
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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