06 July 2022; MEMO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Algeria yesterday.
Algiers said its President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, had succeeded in bringing them together for the first time in years. The post included a video clip showing Abbas, Haniyeh and the Algerian president shaking hands, with other Palestinian officials present.
The Algerian presidency deleted the post about 20 minutes after posting it, but then re-posted the same video with the entry: "The President of the Republic, Abdel Majid Tebboune, brings together, in a historic meeting on the side-lines of the 60th independence celebrations in Algeria, the Palestinian brothers, the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and his accompanying delegation, and the delegation of Hamas, led by the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, after many years of not meeting around the same table."
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas "informed his brother President Tebboune of the latest political developments related to the Palestinian cause, and the practices of the occupation and its aggression against our people, which undermine the chances of peace and the two-state solution."
It added that the two presidents discussed "means of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and nations, in addition to many international and regional issues of common interest."
Yesterday, Abbas attended the large military parade held by Algeria, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its independence and the restoration of its sovereignty, which was performed by the Algerian army. He had arrived in the country on Monday.
