ALGIERS – Friday, 14 October 2022 (APS) – Politicians and Palestinian factions hailed Thursday the efforts made by Algeria, led by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which culminated in the signing of the “Algiers Declaration” resulting from the “Conference of Unification of Palestinian Ranks.”
In a statement to APS, the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly (Lower House), Brahim Boughali stressed that “this historic event is in the annals of the history of Algeria known for its firm positions in diplomacy and foreign policy.”
Boughali hopes that the Palestinian reconciliation can give a “strong impetus” to the Arab Summit scheduled for November 1 and 2 in Algiers.
Algeria “has always supported the Palestinian cause. Today, we are witnessing cohesion between all Palestinian factions on Algerian soil. This is a positive thing and it honors Algerian diplomacy,” he said.
For his part, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh said: “We thank Algeria for its support and interest in the Palestinian cause, and its contribution to the achievement of the unification process.”
“The fact that we have reached an agreement today confirms that we are capable and determined to proclaim a Palestinian state on all its territories, the return of refugees and the release of our prisoners.
For his part, Ahmed Al-Majdalani, Secretary General of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPF) and member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) called the Palestinian agreement a “historic event”, commending the efforts of Algeria and President Tebboune for sponsoring the Declaration and signing it on Algerian soil, in the same room where the creation of the State of Palestine was proclaimed in 1988.
Azzam Al-Ahmad, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and the Central Committee of the movement “Fatah” said that this Declaration will not remain a dead letter, stressing that his faction and all Palestinian parties are willing to implement all its clauses.
“The Palestinian parties are optimistic and reassured to see Algeria leading the Algerian-Arab working group in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Declaration,” he said.
“All the conflicting issues between the Palestinian parties have been settled,” he said.
The issue of the formation of the government has been postponed until the resolution of the issue of the organization of general elections and the unification of factions under the PLO banner, he stated.
Regarding the possibility of reaching an Arab consensus on the Palestinian cause at the November Summit, Azzam said he “is sure that the Arab leaders, under the leadership of Algeria, will manage to unify their voice on the Palestinian issue.”
The Secretary General of the Palestinian People’s Party and member of the PLO Executive Committee, Bassam Salhi said that this agreement between the Palestinian factions “is of great importance.”