Reconciliation committee 'has resolved passport issue'

The cross-party committee overseeing reconciliation on Saturday resolved that all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, are entitled to a passport, coordinator Mustafa Barghouti said. Some residents of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip had been unable to obtain a passport from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank after the rivalry between the parties led to the division of the territories under separate governments in 2007. The Public Freedom's Committee resolved the issue in its third meeting, held Saturday by video conference between Ramallah and Gaza City. The committee was formed to implement the reconciliation agreement signed in May to end the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah. Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said citizens would no longer be denied passports. He said the committee was not only discussing issues but implementing reforms. Over the next week, the committee plans to achieve tangible improvements to other freedoms affected by the political rivalry, including freedom of the press and the release of political prisoners, Barghouti added. The Independent Commission for Human Rights said Thursday that it received 197 complaints against West Bank security forces concerning political arrests in December, and 76 complaints of political detention in the Gaza Strip.