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Palestinian PM says Gaza visit to boost reconciliation, unity

Xinhua, March 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Palestinian unity government Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said upon his arrival in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday that his visit would focus on boosting reconciliation and unity.

"We came here to empower the internal Palestinian reconciliation and resume a comprehensive national unity dialogue that treats all the outstanding issues," Hamdallah told a news conference in Gaza city.

He also defended the unity government, which was accused by the Islamic Hamas movement of practicing discrimination against Gaza Strip's populations.

The unity government was formed in June last year by two previous rivals, Hamas and the Fatah party, the power base of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Gaza Strip is an essential part of the state of Palestine. This visit was made according to President Mahmoud Abbas' instructions, who follows every big and tiny detail in the Gaza Strip," said Hamdallah.

He went on saying that his government will soon find a solution to the crisis facing the Gaza Strip employees, who were nominated by Hamas movement, after it seized control of the coastal enclave by force in the summer of 2007.

"This question is on top of our priorities. We never discriminated between one employee or another in terms of salaries, so we will resolve the problem in accordance to the understandings reached in Cairo and Gaza," he said.

Hamdallah arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon for a two-day visit. It is the second visit to the enclave since October.

Ihab Bseiso, the government's spokesman told reporters that Hamdallah will stay in Gaza until Friday morning and he will hold meetings with leaders of various Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement.

Hamdallah's convoy crossed into the Gaza Strip through Erez crossing point between Israel and the northern tip of the coastal enclave that has been under an Israeli blockade for eight years.

It is Hamdallah's second ever visit to the coastal enclave since the formation of the government. He made a first visit to Gaza in October, less than two month of the end of last summer's Israeli war.

"The Prime Minister visit to Gaza aims at studying a Swiss-proposed plan that aims at boosting the internal Palestinian reconciliation as well as speeding the process of reconstruction," said Bseiso.

Switzerland presented an initiative to resolve the crisis of employees who haven't been paid their monthly salaries for several months. They were nominated after Hamas violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.

"This government should carry our real measures to penance these mistakes. So far this government has failed to be the government for all Palestinians," said Abu Zuhri, spokesman for Hamas movement, in a statement.

Hamdallah is scheduled to hold a meeting with the deputy of Hamas chief Ismail Henay in Gaza city.

As soon as he arrived at the hotel, dozens of employees rallied outside the hotel and chanted slogans against his government. Endit