CAIRO, 24 August. - (ANA) - A senior Fatah delegation has cancelled a planned meeting with Hamas leaders in Cairo despite having requested the talks through Egyptian mediation, two Palestinian sources told The New Arab.

 

The high-level delegation, which arrives in Egypt on Sunday for meetings with Egyptian officials and other Palestinian factions, had been due to hold bilateral talks with Hamas on Monday.

 

However, Hamas leaders were informed by Egyptian officials that Fatah had called off the meeting after the date had already been arranged and agreed by both sides, according to the sources.

 

The delegation includes Fatah Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh, Central Committee member Majed Faraj and Palestine Liberation Organisation Executive Committee member Rawhi Fattouh.

 

The sources said the cancellation was particularly notable because Fatah had itself requested the meeting through Egyptian officials.

 

It is the second time in recent months that Fatah has cancelled planned talks with Hamas, after a previous meeting between the two rival Palestinian movements in the Turkish capital Ankara was also called off.

 

The reasons for the latest cancellation remain unclear, although the sources told The New Arab that external pressure appeared to have played a role in the decision.

 

The Fatah delegation is nevertheless expected to hold meetings with Egyptian officials and leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and will likely also meet figures from Mohammed Dahlan's Fatah Reform Current.

 

Sources previously told The New Arab that Fatah would seek to persuade the PFLP not to join a broader electoral alliance being formed ahead of planned Palestinian legislative elections in November.

 

The proposed alliance is expected to include Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Dahlan's Reform Current and the Palestinian National Democratic Forum.

 

The sources said the Fatah delegation "will meet the leadership of the Popular Front and will exert pressure aimed at preventing the PFLP from participating in the political alliance contesting the upcoming legislative elections in November, which will include Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Fatah Reform Current, and the National Democratic Forum".

 

The now-cancelled talks with Hamas had been expected to focus on arrangements for legislative elections in the Gaza Strip.

 

The issue has taken on added significance because the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, appointed by Trump's Board of Peace, is not expected to have assumed responsibility for governing the territory by November, when the elections are due to take place.

 

Nasser al-Qudwa, head of the Palestinian National Democratic Forum and a former Palestinian foreign minister, told The New Arab last week that a meeting had been held in Cairo to discuss forming a broad national electoral list bringing together Palestinian factions and political currents.

 

"All participants in the meeting agreed to the idea, with the exception of the Popular Front, which requested more time," al-Qudwa said.

 

The developments come amid efforts to reshape Palestinian political alliances ahead of the planned vote, with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Dahlan's current and other groups exploring cooperation outside the framework of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.  - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/24 August 2026 - - -