Palestine

Palestinian political groups and factions on Thursday staged a rare show of unity to underline their rejection of the US-backed deal between Israel and the UAE to the normalization of ties.

Iran Press/Middle East: "We cannot accept anyone speaking in our name. We have never allowed it, and we will not allow it, ever," said The head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah beamed live by videoconference to a parallel meeting held at the Palestinian embassy in Beirut.

"We will never accept the United States as the sole mediator for negotiations (with Israel), and we will not accept its plan" for a peace settlement, said Abbas, calling for Palestinian "unity" in the face of Washington's strategy.

The meeting was the first since 2013 bringing together Abbas, head of the mainstream Fatah party, and the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh -- albeit virtually, rather than in the same room.

Haniyeh, for his part, called for a united front, via videoconference from Beirut.

"We must restore our national unity, put an end to division, and establish a unified Palestinian position... to confront projects directed against our people," said the Hamas official.

In a final communique released after the talks, the Palestinian factions announced they had approved the creation, within five weeks, of a joint committee to organize "the popular resistance" and "put an end to the divisions" between themselves.

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