RAMALLAH, Tuesday, February 4, 2020 (WAFA) - Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad said yesterday that the postponement of the visit of a delegation of Palestinian factions to the Gaza Strip was because Hamas was not ready.

Ahmad told Palestine TV that the delegation of 12 members from PLO and various factions was supposed to arrive in Gaza yesterday, noting that the idea of the visit came from President Mahmoud Abbas during the emergency meeting of the leadership that was held with a declaration of the American so-called deal of the century last Tuesday.

He said they received information from Gaza that it seemed that Hamas was not ready, despite the approval of the head of its political bureau Ismail Haniyeh.

He said the program of the visit included meetings for all PLO officials along with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and all the factions that signed the Cairo reconciliation agreement in 2017 with a goal to unify the Palestinian position from the American plan.

“We have not received any official welcome, whether from Hamas or Islamic Jihad,” said Ahmad.

He stressed that in light of the recent developments caused with the American announcement of the so-called deal of the century, “the most sacred thing to do now is to agree on how to confront attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause. When we unite on this matter and we do joint work in this long battle, the issue of ending the division would roll like a snowball.”

He said, "We will not lose hope. Our primary goal is to mobilize our people and unite our ranks to thwart the Trump-Netanyahu plan," in reference to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

M.K.