ALGIERS (Al Jazeera) – The leaders of rival Palestinian groups are meeting in Algeria for two-day talks aimed at discussing a proposal for reconciliation and national unity.
The proposal was drawn up after “months of effort by Algeria to reach a common vision for boosting the Palestinian national action”, Palestinian ambassador Fayez Abu Aita said.
Representatives of 12 Palestinian groups, including rival Hamas and Fatah movements, will be attending, Abu Aita told the official broadcaster Palestine Voice Radio.
The initiative is the latest attempt to solve a rift that has caused division.
The two sides will discuss the payment of salaries to 30,000 Hamas employees in the Gaza Strip, as well as how to move forward with long-overdue Palestinian elections – the first to be held since 2006.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune launched the initiative to unite the Palestinians in January. Algerian officials held separate dialogues with officials from Fatah and Hamas to discuss the outlines of the proposal in advance of the talks.
The talks come amid intensifying Zionist raids in occupied territories that resulted in the killing of more than 100 Palestinians this year.