Palestinian Islamic Jihad sets condition for attending Cairo meeting next week

By Mohammed Majad, Cagri Kosak

GAZA, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) on Sunday set a condition for attending a meeting in Egypt's capital of Cairo next week, saying unless its members imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank are released, the movement will not attend the extraordinary meeting.

The Palestinian authorities, however, have made no statement on the latest development.

On July 10, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the extraordinary meeting of Palestinian groups’ general secretaries in Egypt.

The meeting in Cairo on July 30 is expected to address the dangers and challenges facing the Palestinian cause following the 48-hour attack by Israel on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank earlier this month.

However, the day after President Abbas' announcement, PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah expressed his objection to the Palestinian Authority's arrests of movement members in the West Bank, saying these arrests hindered the success of the general secretaries meeting to be held in Cairo.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul