This week’s P.A. visit to Gaza, brokered by Egypt, a key ally to the United States and Israel, is only for several days, but Husam Zomlot, the PLO envoy to Washington and a top Abbas adviser, anticipated a consolidation of the Palestinian Authority presence there.
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Members of Fatah and Hamas are due to hold talks in Egypt to discuss important topics in the reconciliation on Monday.
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been politically divided since 2007, when Hamas wrested control of Gaza from Fatah, ending a short-lived unity government established after Hamas swept the 2006 legislative elections that were ultimately rejected by Fatah, Israel and the global community.
It also remains unclear what will happen to Hamas’ 40,000 civil servants, who were hired after Abbas forced his employees in Gaza to resign after the Hamas takeover.
“We return to Gaza again to end the division and achieve unity”.
Another cause for wariness on Abbas’ part is the role of Egypt’s Palestinian protégé, Mohammed Dahlan.
Hamas leader Haniya said they were willing to “pay any price” for reconciliation but analysts say disarming would effectively mean the end of the movement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already warned his government will not accept any reconciliation deal unless Hamas disarms and recognises Israel’s right to exist. And a similar effort in 2014 tanked after Israel and Hamas started a brief war in Gaza. “We need all people to join in the movement in order to alleviate the sufferings of our people and face Israel’s occupation in unity”, said Salah al-Bardawil, spokesperson for the Islamic Hamas movement.
Hundreds of people packed streets waving flags and cheering as Mr Hamdallah’s convoy arrived in Gaza on Monday, his first such visit in two years.
The meeting of the Palestinian cabinet in Gaza was a step toward reconciliation between the mainstream Fatah party and Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza. “We won’t accept a reproduction of the experience of Hizbollah in Lebanon”, where the Shiite organisation runs an armed wing beyond the state’s control, Mr Abbas said.
The Palestinian National Consensus Government’s first session in three years in Gaza following success of Egyptian-mediated reconciliation efforts dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Wednesday. The palestinian government met in Gaza on Tuesday. New elections are expected to take place in Gaza and the West Bank in the next few months.
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In a sign of Egypt’s eagerness to support Palestinian unity, Sisi sent the head of the country’s General Intelligence Services, Khaled Fawzi, to attend the meetings between the Palestinian factions, according to al-Masry al-Youm. “In the West Bank some people are talking about a complete governmental takeover in Gaza, whereas within Hamas, the language being used is all about political power sharing”.
