Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb announced that he and the institution he represents are willing to participate in reconciliatory efforts underway among Palestinian groups to unite them in the face of Israeli attacks.
During a meeting on Monday with the former Palestinian Foreign Minister and Hamas member Mahmoud al-Zahar, al-Tayyeb called on Palestinian factions to reconcile and unite, saying it was impossible to stand up to the “Israeli aggression” while the people are divided.
“With your divisions, you have given Israel justification to halt negotiations,” al-Tayyeb told al-Zahar. “This is a plan to weaken and divide you which you must face by unifying.”
Al-Tayyeb said he was willing to participate in reconciliation efforts while working to safeguard the rights of Hamas, Fatah and the Palestinian people in order to secure a better life for Palestinians.
For his part, al-Zahar expressed his complete trust in al-Azhar and in al-Tayyeb’s stance towards the Palestinian cause. “We, in the Hamas movement, call for reconciliation, and we have faith in the ability of Egypt and the Egyptian people to achieve this reconciliation,” said al-Zahar. “We are fully prepared to sit down with the Fatah movement.”
In related news, the grand sheikh met with Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi on Monday to discuss Al-Azhar’s role in spreading moderate Islam and funding of delegations to foreign countries.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
