Naji to Al Mayadeen: PFLP-GC will boycott Cairo meeting if PIJ does so

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
26 Jul 2023 21:30
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The PFLP-GC will join the PIJ in boycotting Cario meeting as the PA fails to meet the Resistance factions' demands.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (FPLP-GC) Talal Naji, then deputy to Ahmed Jibril, the founder of the movement, speaks at a press conference in Damascus, Syria, January 21, 2008. (AFP)

The Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), Talal Naji, affirmed to Al Mayadeen that "the Front is against all arrests by the Palestinian Authority (PA)."

Naji added, "We want the release of all detainees held by the Authority, but we requested the release of some before going to Cairo," the SG of the PFLP-GC said in reference to an upcoming meeting of Palestinian secretaries-general in Cairo, Egypt, which sources of Al Mayadeen say will take place on Sunday.

الأمين العام للجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين القيادة العامة طلال ناجي لـ #الميادين: "نحن نريد إطلاق سراح كل المعتقلين لدى السلطة لكننا طلبنا إطلاق البعض قبل الذهاب إلى القاهرة" pic.twitter.com/1fY3t8wjy0
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) July 26, 2023

Naji stressed that the movement's decision to participate in the meeting is contingent on the participation of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), whose Deputy Secretary-General told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday that the Resistance group will boycott the meeting unless Resistance fighters arbitrarily detained by the PA on political charges are released.

الأمين العام للجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين القيادة العامة طلال ناجي لـ #الميادين: "قلنا أننا لن نشارك في اجتماعات القاهرة في حال لم تشارك حركة الجهاد الإسلامي لعدم الإفراج عن المقاومين المعتقلين" pic.twitter.com/7eSztofu1t
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) July 26, 2023

Naji also said that leaders in the Fatah movement made a promise to communicate the issue of the detained fighters to the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, in hopes of resolving the predicament.

Finally, the head of the PFLP-GC revealed that responses from those who spoke with Abbas on the matter said that the President wants to put the matter on hold for now, as Naji urged him to meet the demands of Resistance groups and release the detainees to ensure the success of the meeting in Cairo.

الأمين العام للجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين القيادة العامة طلال ناجي لـ #الميادين: "الردود الأولية من قبل الذين تواصلوا مع الأخ أبو مازن حول المعتقلين جاءت أنه يريد التريث في هذا الموضوع" pic.twitter.com/4VueLELtBo
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) July 26, 2023

Abbas meets with Haniyeh in Ankara

Today, Abbas and the head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, met with Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Earlier in the day, the two Palestinian leaders met to discuss honestly and comprehensively a number of important domestic issues in preparation for the meeting in Cario, according to Hussam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau.

Badran said that the Hamas delegation stressed Resistance as the most effective way to confront the occupation and the dangers that threaten the Palestinian cause.

He revealed that Hamas stressed, "The outcomes of the meeting of the secretaries-general must align with the aspirations and hopes of our people," stressing the need for adequate preparation and creating favorable conditions to ensure its success.

The participants agreed on the necessity of uniting Palestinian efforts to confront the imminent dangers facing the Palestinian cause, especially the extremist projects of the far-right occupation government, which aims to expand settlements and exploit the resources of the Palestinian people.

PIJ to boycott Cairo meeting unless demands are met

On Tuesday, the Deputy Secretary General of the PIJ, Mohammad, Al-Hindi, expressed the movement's dismay at the actions of the PA, which detained several Palestinian Resistance fighters without charges being raised against them.

Al-Hindi said that the PA has no role to play on the political level, but rather its role is limited to security matters.

Al-Hindi, in his exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen, referred to a promise made by officials in the Palestinian Authority to release detained Resistance fighters in preparation for Abbas's visit to the Jenin camp. However, this promise, he said, was not fulfilled.

He announced that the PIJ will not participate in the meeting of the secretaries-general in Cairo unless the PA releases the detained resistance fighters, adding that "Palestinian factions are making efforts to bring the points of views of [the Palestinian] Islamic Jihad and the [Palestinian] Authority closer together to ensure the success [of a possible] meeting."