Worthy Christian News > Israel-Palestinian Conflict > Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to Boycott Palestinian Leadership Meeting on Israeli Annexation

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to Boycott Palestinian Leadership Meeting on Israeli Annexation

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) announced Wednesday that they would boycott an upcoming Palestinian leaders meeting about Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported. Palestinian officials said Tuesday that representatives from the two groups had been invited to attend the meeting planned for Saturday in Ramallah.

There is a long history of violent conflict, rivalry, and disunity between the two major Palestinian factions: Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah, the party to which President Mahmoud Abbas belongs, in the West Bank. The conflict has also been referred to as the Palestinian Civil War. Lasting reconciliation and unification have not yet been achieved.

Hamas said in a statement that no official invitation to attend Saturday’s meeting had been received. However, the group also said: “Confronting the Zionist project through a meeting in Ramallah, would be a waste of precious time and a repetition of experiences that have proven unsuccessful.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, Hamas asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to call a meeting for the leaders of all the many Palestinian factions to discuss an “effective national strategy” in dealing with the Israeli plan. In its statement, Hamas said it was prepared to join a “serious meeting that is capable of bringing about the needed change.” It said the Palestinian position on Israel is very weak and it branded the annexation plan as a “dangerous Zionist-American conspiracy.”
 


In its own statement, the Jerusalem Post reports, PIJ said they had received an invitation to the Ramallah meeting on Saturday, but they would be boycotting it. PIJ is a Damascus-based faction that, together with Hamas, is part of the Alliance of Palestinian Forces which rejects the Oslo Accords. Like Hamas, PIJ stated its belief that confronting Israeli annexation plans is best achieved by “convening a meeting of the leaders of all Palestinian factions to discuss the challenges to the Palestinian national cause and confront [US President Donald] Trump’s plan [for Mideast peace].”