Palestinian ‘freedom committee’ downs tools in protest

A committee on freedom of movement and expression set up under a Palestinian reconciliation agreement has suspended its work in Gaza, one of its members said Wednesday. Khalil Abu Shamala, general secretary of the Committee on Civil Liberties, said the decision was taken in protest at the failure of the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, to implement its recommendations, including a prisoner swap between the old rivals. “After more than a month of work by the committee, we decided yesterday (Tuesday) to freeze our work and not resume meetings until implementation of the recommendations we have made to both parties,” he told AFP. Ismail al-Ashqar, a Hamas leader who is also a committee member, accused Fatah of dragging its feet. “We hear words, but on the ground reality is totally different. I can say that what we have obtained from Fatah in order to resolve the outstanding issues is an absolute zero,” he told the Hamas newspaper Palestine. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the release of 64 Hamas members detained by his Palestinian Authority, at the signing in Doha on Monday of an agreement with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. But Hamas has challenged this figure in a statement, saying that 35 of those freed were only out on bail. Implementation of a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah reached in Cairo in April and endorsed by all Palestinian factions, has been stalled for months despite numerous meetings.