The rise of Islamist parties across the region in the wake of the
Arab Spring will have consequences for the Palestinians, Palestinian
leader Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday in Tunis.
"The rise to power of Islamist forces in revolutionary countries will
no doubt impact on the Palestinian issue," the head of the
Palestinian Authority said during a four-day visit here.
Abbas´ Fatah party, which controls the West Bank, and the Islamist
movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, reached a deal last year
to reconcile but the process has hit repeated roadblocks, with the
formation of a consensus government proving thorny.´
During his visit, Abbas has held talks with President Moncef Marzouki
and Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, notably on ways in which Tunisia
could support Palestinian reconciliation.
Jebali´s moderate Islamist party Ennahda won elections in October
after the ouster last year of long-serving Tunisian dictator Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali in the Arab Spring´s founding uprising.
