MIFTAH
Thursday, 28 March. 2024
 
Your Key to Palestine
The Palestinian Initiatives for The Promotoion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
 
 
 

At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, the internal Palestinian climate has never been better. The gestures of unity, the brotherly handshakes and the conciliatory words coming from leaders who only recently were busy blaming the other side for the breakdown in unity talks, are all encouraging signs that just maybe, the Palestinians will finally unite.

The timing is just right for these grand gestures, it should be added. While Palestinian unity was jumpstarted by the events of the most recent Gaza war, the present provides an opportunity for grand shows of solidarity and tolerance. In the next few weeks, the anniversaries marking the founding of both Hamas and Fatah will be celebrated and both the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza have given permission to their fellow Palestinians to mark their respective days. This is the first time since the split that Hamas has allowed Fatah to organize their festival on the movement’s anniversary, which falls on January 1. The same goes for the PA, which is allowing Hamas to hold a festival celebrating its movement’s inception in Nablus on Thursday, December 13.

Hamas has even seemed to warm to the idea of holding general elections, something which President Mahmoud Abbas has called for and Hamas has rejected. In Gaza yesterday, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said: “Free and fair Palestinian elections must be followed by partnership and cooperation between factions…Our brothers in Fatah, you started before us, and we are not your replacement but rather your partners. Old disagreements will never come back," he said, adding that reconciliation was a necessity.

Likewise, President Mahmoud Abbas continued to push for reconciliation. At yesterday’s Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in Doha, Qatar, Abbas said that, “Reconciliation is dear to us and for the unity of our people,” adding that a meeting would soon take place in Cairo between the parties to move the reconciliation process forward.

Although it is too early to tell if this reconciliation will actually become a reality – we have been bitterly disappointed before – we still must appreciate what seems like sincere efforts for this to happen.

Of course, this is making Israel squirm. The idea of a united Palestinian people, especially after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution making Palestine a non-member state, is certainly not to Israel’s favor. And so, it has begun to take preemptive strikes, lashing out at Meshaal and Abbas, saying neither are interested in peace with Israel.

Yesterday, Israeli deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon maintained that there was ‘no difference between Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal.” Yaalon told Israel radio that, “The only difference between them is that Abbas candy-coats his ideology with pretty words while Meshaal does not”

Other than similar incendiary statements by Israeli officials, the Israeli army has also expressed concerns over a possible reconciliation between the two Palestinian rivals. The army now says it fears if Hamas and Fatah reconcile, this would allow for Hamas to grow stronger in the West Bank, mostly because PA security services would be less likely to arrest Hamas operatives, something which they say is already happening.

If anything gives us a sign that we are on the right track it is when Israel panics. It did so before the UN resolution on statehood and it is now that reconciliation is drawing closer. Still, we Palestinians should not fear the Israeli repercussions of such a move. Israel pushes forth with its plans regardless of our agendas or approaches. Whether we are in negotiations, carrying out military operations or launching a popular uprising, Israel continues to expand its settlements on Palestinian land and entrench its occupation further. They will kick and scream, withhold our money and continue to oppress our people if we unite, but they would have done that anyway.

So, the Palestinians should strike while the iron is hot, so to say. The atmosphere is ripe and we should take advantage of the momentum. Reconciliation is long overdue; but then again, there is no better time than the present.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

 
 
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