Fatah’s Jibril Rajoub and Hamas’s Saleh Arouri pledged that their groups would stand united against the Israeli government’s intention to extend sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHSenior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed (2nd L), head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh (3rd L) and senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq (4th L) , hold their hands after announcing a reconciliation agreement in Gaza City April 23, 2014. The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud A(photo credit: SUHAIB SALEM / REUTERS)
Hours after Fatah and Hamas announced on Thursday their intention to work together to thwart Israeli and American schemes, Palestinian Authority security officers broke up a small rally in Jenin to celebrate the release of Hamas prisoner Amjad Qabaha from Israeli prison.The PA officers dispersed a number of well-wishers, confiscated Hamas flags and arrested Palestinian journalist Tareq Abu Zeid.The incident in Jenin cast a shadow of doubt over the hullabaloo surrounding the joint Fatah-Hamas press conference that was broadcast from Ramallah and Beirut.At the press conference, Fatah’s Jibril Rajoub and Hamas’s Saleh Arouri pledged that their groups would stand united against the Israeli government’s intention to extend sovereignty to parts of the West Bank and US President Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Palestinians from across the political spectrum have welcomed the Fatah-Hamas “unity” accord and expressed hope that it would pave the way for ending the 13-year-old dispute between the two rival parties.The incident in Jenin, however, appeared to spoil the celebrations over the purported unity. It also served as a reminder that despite the sweet talk at the press conference, the gap between Fatah and Hamas remains as wide as ever.Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem expressed “regret” over the Jenin incident and said the PA security forces should have “honored” the released prisoner instead of attacking those who came to greet him.Qassem urged the PA security forces to “adhere to the unitary spirit that was reflected in the joint press conference between Rajoub and Arouri.”Some Palestinians said that the joint Fatah-Hamas press conference was mainly designed to send a message to Israel, the US and the international community to the effect that the two parties are prepared to lay aside their differences in favor of “confronting dangerous conspiracies whose goal is to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”Others expressed doubt that the Fatah-Hamas announcement would be translated into deeds. They pointed out that several Fatah and Hamas officials remain opposed to attempts to end the dispute between the two sides at any cost.In addition, the Palestinians noted, certain regional parties – including Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are likely to obstruct any deal between Fatah and Hamas, each for its own reasons.The Saudis and the Egyptians are strongly opposed to any effort that may embolden Hamas. Iran and Qatar have good relations with Hamas, much to the dismay of the PA.The UAE’s relations with the PA have been strained since 2011, when the Gulf state opened its doors to deposed Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, an arch-rival of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The UAE, with the tacit approval of Hamas, has also been assisting Dahlan’s efforts to establish power bases in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.The “positive atmosphere” created by last week’s joint press conference has so far failed to produce tangible results on the ground.The PA has evidently not stopped its security crackdown on Hamas members in the West Bank, many of whom remain in Palestinian prisons. Hamas, for its part, has not released dozens of Fatah activists who were arrested in the Gaza Strip in the past few weeks.Moreover, Fatah and Hamas media outlets have not halted the smear campaigns against each other, particularly on social media platforms. Nor have Hamas officials in the West Bank been invited to meet with their counterparts in Fatah to discuss ways of implementing the ostensible unity deal.Most importantly, Abbas has still not lifted the economic sanctions he imposed on the Gaza Strip two years ago as part of an attempt to undermine Hamas’s rule.A number of Palestinian political analysts said over the weekend that Thursday’s “theatrical show” could be linked to the behind-the-scenes power struggle to succeed the 85-year-old Abbas. They claimed that the press conference was designed to present Rajoub as a unifier of all Palestinians, thus improving his chances of becoming the next PA president.Several unity and “reconciliation” agreements signed between Fatah and Hamas since 2006 have failed to materialize. On the contrary, each agreement was followed by more crises and tensions between the two factions. Under the current circumstances, it’s safe to assume that the Rajoub-Arouri agreement will suffer the same fate.
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