Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to release imprisoned "resistance fighters" after a request by Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Turkey, according to reports Wednesday.
A meeting between the two rival leaders was hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, where Erdogan pledged to "continue to support the Palestinian cause in the strongest possible way."
1 View gallery
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (R) meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey.
(Photo: Mustafa KAMACI / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This comes ahead of a meeting of Palestinian faction leaders in Cairo next Sunday. An agreement on the release of prisoners is a basic requirement for the meeting to go forward, according to i24NEWS Arabic correspondent Faras Hassan.
Hassan reported that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad refuses to attend unless prisoner Khaled Malaysha is released. Malaysha, a brigade commander for the terrorist group, was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces, accused of burning down a police station in Jenin.