In a meeting of senior delegations, leadership agreed on a vision that will be reviewed by the individual factions.
Rabat – Two senior delegations of Hamas and Fatah agreed on a unified vision for Palestine, says a statement issued by Hamas on Thursday. Dialogue was successful in bringing together the two main factions on the Palestinian side, according to the same source.
The diplomatic engagement took place at Palestine’s consulate in Istanbul as part of the former’s new unity push. The meeting was a result of recent developments in Palestine’s national dialogue, following conferences of Palestinian secretaries-general in Ramallah and Beirut.
Palestine’s various factions are aiming to create a new national project of political reconciliation in the face of Israel’s normalization push. Fatah and Hamas have long held political disagreements but a July 2 joint press conference signaled that both factions were eager to resolve these issues.
Following the press event was a leadership meeting in Al-Muqata. It brought together representatives of all major Palestinian factions, hosted by President Mahmoud Abbas. The leadership meeting led to large meetings in Jericho, the West Bank, and Gaza. These in turn preceded a meeting of Palestinian secretaries-general who worked to amend the ineffective 2009 leadership framework and produce a new foundation for unity.
Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, has now pledged to work with Gaza’s Hamas authorities to create a “national consensus.” The official announcement of the consensus is set to take place in a secretaries-general meeting before October 1, as long as the practical element of the consensus enters into effect immediately afterward.
The statement issued after Thursday’s meeting in Istanbul did not refer to Israel’s normalization of ties with Bahrain and the UAE but hinted at the issue by mentioning “plots targeting the Palestinian cause.” The statement added that Hamas and Fatah remain committed to “joint and unified work to defend their people’s rights and interests.” The two factions aim to confront “plots” in order to gain full independence.
Recent diplomatic moves have seen traditional Arab allies of the Palestinian cause opt for a normalization of ties with Israel. Driven by economic motives, Bahrain and the UAE signed the “Abraham Accords” earlier in September. Israel and the US have repeatedly expressed expectations that other countries would follow in the footsteps of the two Gulf states.
Representatives of Palestine quit their role as chair of the Arab League Council on Wednesday. They did so to protest the sudden absence of solidarity among their traditional allies and a perceived unwillingness by the Arab League to counter the Israeli normalization drive.
