RAMALLAH: On November 25th, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) released a statement which applauded the de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip for agreeing to release Palestinian political prisoners detained during or as a result of the 2006 Fatah-Hamas fighting. Last week, as the Palestinian street continued its long push for national unity, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and the Gaza-based Hamas government agreed to release mutual prisoners in order to begin national reconciliation talks on a positive note. Hamas agreed to grant amnesty to the prisoners arrested in the 2006 violence. The director of PCHR said he hopes the measures will “pave the way for a new era of national reconciliation." The statement added the PCHR “looks forward to restoring respect and unity of the Palestinian executive, legislative, and judicial institutions." Following the recent 8-day Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip, many Palestinians have expressed their unconditional desire to end the six year Fatah-Hamas divide that has allowed Israel to treat Gaza and West Bank as entirely separate entities. Although Hamas rejected the Palestinian Authority's 2011 United Nations statehood bid, it declared its support to PA President Mahmoud Abbas's decision to approach the UN General Assembly last Thursday. Hamas leader Khaled Meshal also expressed his support for a two-state solution based on 1967 borders. The UNGA approved a resolution to upgrade Palestine from “entity" to “nonmember observer state" with a 138-9 vote in Palestine's favor.
