Palestinian president starts Sunday official visit to Egypt

President Abbas starts Sunday a two-day official visit to Egypt Ramallah – Sona Al-Deek Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas starts Sunday a two-day official visit to Egypt during which he will meet the Head of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces SCAF, Mohammad Hussein Tantawi to discuss the developments regarding the reconciliation which he described as a “frozen deal”.
Palestine’s ambassador to Cairo, Barakat al-Farra told Palestinian news agency WAFA on Saturday that the meeting will focus on the latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation efforts.
On Thursday, Abbas said that the reconciliation deal between his Fatah faction and Hamas is going nowhere.
"Unity is frozen," said Abbas, who is in Baghdad to attend the Arab League summit.
Abbas said he had agreed "on many points" with Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal during their meeting in Qatar in February.
"We agreed on the vision and objectives and conditions in full," Abbas said. "I confirm that Mashaal was honest and we were ready."
But "some Hamas leaders rejected the agreements reached in Doha," he added.
"The ball is now in Hamas' court," Abbas said, adding that Qatar "knows all the finer details."
Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in Cairo last May to end years of rivalry, but the deal repeatedly stalled over who would run a new unity government.
Abbas and Tantawi will also discuss ways to ease the blockade of the Gaza Strip, said Farra.
This month a UN relief agency said that the majority of the Gaza population has been experiencing power cuts of up to 18 hours per day after the Gaza power plant was forced to shut down on February 14 due to a lack of fuel.
Egypt had promised to provide Gaza with fuel but the precise terms are still being negotiated.
The Palestinian president will also inaugurate the new headquarters of the Palestinian embassy in Egypt, which is located in the outskirts of Cairo.
In a different note, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habash warned of Hamas obstacles that would hinder the arrangements for the pilgrimage (Hajj) season this year for Gaza’s citizens.
He said in a press release that Hamas tried to set unaccepted conditions on the ministry’s committee that arranges pilgrimage season, stressing the needs of non-politicisation of religious worship