Palestinian president, Hamas chief agree to speed up establishment of joint committee

ISTANBUL

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh agreed Thursday to speed up the establishment of a committee to discuss prospects for intra-Palestinian peace.

According to a statement by Hamas, Haniyeh spoke by phone with Abbas as part of the follow-up of the results of a meeting of Palestinian groups at the level of secretaries-general in Al-Alamein, Egypt on July 30.

During the meeting, it was agreed that the establishment of an intergroup follow-up committee which will discuss all relevant matters should be expedited.

On July 27, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a closed-door meeting with Abbas and Haniyeh.

Erdogan said that Türkiye would welcome Palestinians resolving their differences.

Ankara strongly supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.