60 Palestinian non-governmental and civil society organizations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have signed a petition urging Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyyeh, as well as the various Palestinian political factions, to overcome the current political crisis and give top priority to Palestinian national interest.

The document urges Abbas and Haniyyeh to accelerate efforts aimed at forming a national unity Government, with the inclusion of the various Palestinian political forces within a limited timeframe in order to end months of escalation at the political, security, economic, and governance levels.

The appeal also reiterated the need to incorporate the National Conciliation Document of the Prisoners as the basis of the next Government; advocates of the appeal highlighted the need to guarantee the participation of all segments of Palestinian society and political forces in Government, stressing that the current turmoil requires swift action on all fronts.

Finally, members of civil society organizations reiterated the need to overcome internal Palestinian rivalries, particularly in light of Israel’s continued occupation and strangulation of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinian national liberation, they indirectly asserted, cannot be achieved unless our efforts are consolidated and collectively mobilized.