Fatah to Mark Anniversary in Hamas-Run Gaza
The Gaza branch of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party said on Friday it will mark its anniversary in the Hamas-ruled enclave after an accord between the two factions.
"We have agreed with (Hamas) prime minister Ismail Haniya that Fatah will celebrate its 48th anniversary on January 1 at the site of the Saraya" complex where its security forces were based, Fatah official Yehiye Rabba said.
The last time that Fatah, which governs the West Bank, held celebrations in the Gaza Strip to mark its foundation was in 2007.
Hamas and Fatah had been at loggerheads since the Islamist movement seized control of Gaza in June 2007, following its victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections the previous year.
Under Egyptian mediation, the two groups reached a unity agreement in April 2011, although it has so far not been implemented.
The Fatah anniversary commemorates the first operation against Israel claimed by its armed wing then known as Al-Assifa (The Thunderstorm in Arabic) on January 1, 1965.
Source: Agence France Presse
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