Palestinian factions urge national strategy talks in Egypt to counter Israeli plans in Gaza, West Bank

CAIRO – 15 August 2025: A meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo on Thursday called on Egypt to host national talks aimed at developing “a national strategy and practical program” to confront Israeli plans in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the factions called for the participation of all Palestinian forces in such a national gathering.

The statement emphasized that the talks would aim to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza and achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people—particularly the restoration of national unity and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

A Hamas delegation has been in Cairo this week in an effort to revive ceasefire negotiations, which collapsed last month after the United States and Israel withdrew from the talks, despite earlier signs that a truce in Gaza was within reach.

The delegation, led by Khalil Al-Hayya, head of Hamas’s political bureau, met on Wednesday with General Intelligence Service (GIS) chief Hassan Rashad. Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to resuming the talks.

The factions’ remarks come as Israel, which has killed over 61,700 people in Gaza since the war began in 2023 and displaced the population, plans to expand military operations to reoccupy the enclave.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a plan to “bury” the prospect of a Palestinian state by reviving the globally-condemned E1 settlement project.

The project would add thousands of settler housing units between an existing West Bank settlement and Jerusalem—effectively severing the West Bank, cutting it off from East Jerusalem, and dividing any future Palestinian state in two. The move represents a flagrant violation of international law.

"The Palestinian forces and factions warn of the Zionist Judaization plan in the occupied West Bank, which aims to establish full control, displace residents, seize land, and gradually implement a settler-colonial replacement scheme by bringing in millions of settlers," the statement read.

The factions stressed the urgent need to formulate urgent national plans to confront this project, safeguard the Palestinian and Arab presence, and thwart colonial schemes.