Reconciliation process in Palestine

Ten years of infighting between Hamas and Al-Fatah has not only weakened the Palestinian struggle but also strengthened the hold of Israel

After ten years of hostility and bloodshed, the rival Palestinian groups namely Al-Fatah and Hamas agreed in September to form a national unity government and dissolve administrative committees in Gaza. Since 2007, Gaza was ruled by radical Muslim Palestinian group Hamas and West Bank remained under the control of moderate PLO group Al-Fatah. Earlier, in June 2014, the two Palestinian groups had formed national unity government but it failed to establish working relationship with each other.

The division within the Palestinian community enormously benefited Israel as it was able to use excessive force against the people residing in Gaza couple of years ago when it alleged that Hamas was firing rockets on its territory. Gaza, although vacated by Israel is under siege causing serious problems to local people particularly shortage of food and medicines.

How the process of reconciliation unleashed between Hamas and Al-Fatah may help the Palestinian community in Gaza and West Bank to strengthen their struggle for an independent Palestinian state? How a national unity government in Palestine will impact on Israeli policy of Jewish settlements in the West Bank? Will general elections, which are due in West Bank and Gaza help strengthen the process of national reconciliation in Palestine?

The unfortunate reality in the Middle East is the occupation of Arab areas by Israel since the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Although Sinai desert was returned to Egypt by Israel under the Camp David accord and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty of 1979, Israel has annexed Golan Heights which it captured from Syria and East Jerusalem from Jordan during June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The Oslo accords of September 1993, which established Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and West Bank, failed because Israel not only settled hundreds of thousands of Jews in the West Bank but also shifted its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The vision to establish a Palestinian state along with Israel outlined in the UN partition plan of Palestine in 1947 also remained unaccomplished because Israel under the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to accept the demand for an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. As a result, stalemate and standoff in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process resulted into the outbreak of Intifada-II in September 2000 which further caused violence in Gaza and West Bank.

The Israeli state taking advantage of fragmentation within the Arab world and split in the Palestinian community in the form of Hamas and Al-Fatah has deepened its programme to settle hundreds of thousands of Jews in the West Bank. With the rise of radical Islamic group Hamas and its winning of elections in Gaza in 2007, Palestinian infighting reached its peak with Hamas controlling Gaza and the PLO led Al-Fatah by President Mahmoud Abbas controlling the West Bank. Ten years of infighting between Hamas and Al-Fatah not only weakened the Palestinian struggle but also strengthened the hold of Israel. The very struggle to establish an independent Palestinian state reached a stalemate with Israel pursuing an inflexible and intransigent approach on the demands of PLO like the formation of an independent Palestinian homeland and the return of Palestinian refugees who were uprooted since the formation of Israel back to their homes. Palestinians were killing Palestinians which encouraged Israel to launch fierce attack over Gaza in 2015 resulting into hundreds of casualties and displacement of people.

After 10 years of back to back debacles, the Palestinian leadership from Hamas and Al-Fatah agreed to mend fences and establish National Unity Government. Hamas’s readiness to support the holding of general elections in West Bank and Gaza is a reflection of a major reality that its isolation in the region has not helped achieve its objectives as Al-Fatah administration in West Bank is recognised as a legitimate Palestinian authority.

The writer is Meritorious Professor of International Relations at the University of Karach

Reconciliation process in Palestine

Ten years of infighting between Hamas and Al-Fatah has not only weakened the Palestinian struggle but also strengthened the hold of Israel

After ten years of hostility and bloodshed, the rival Palestinian groups namely Al-Fatah and Hamas agreed in September to form a national unity government and dissolve administrative committees in Gaza. Since 2007, Gaza was ruled by radical Muslim Palestinian group Hamas and West Bank remained under the control of moderate PLO group Al-Fatah. Earlier, in June 2014, the two Palestinian groups had formed national unity government but it failed to establish working relationship with each other. The division within the Palestinian community enormously benefited Israel as it was able to use excessive force against the people residing in Gaza couple of years ago when it alleged that Hamas was firing rockets on its territory. Gaza, although vacated by Israel is under siege causing serious problems to local people particularly shortage of food and medicines. How the process of reconciliation unleashed between Hamas and Al-Fatah may help the Palestinian community in Gaza and West Bank to strengthen their struggle for an independent Palestinian state? How a national unity government in Palestine will impact on Israeli policy of Jewish settlements in the West Bank? Will general elections, which are due in West Bank and Gaza help strengthen the process of national reconciliation in Palestine? The unfortunate reality in the Middle East is the occupation of Arab areas by Israel since the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Although Sinai desert was returned to Egypt by Israel under the Camp David accord and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty of 1979, Israel has annexed Golan Heights which it captured from Syria and East Jerusalem from Jordan during June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The Oslo accords of September 1993, which established Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and West Bank, failed because Israel not only settled hundreds of thousands of Jews in the West Bank but also shifted its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The vision to establish a Palestinian state along with Israel outlined in the UN partition plan of Palestine in 1947 also remained unaccomplished because Israel under the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to accept the demand for an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. As a result, stalemate and standoff in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process resulted into the outbreak of Intifada-II in September 2000 which further caused violence in Gaza and West Bank. The Israeli state taking advantage of fragmentation within the Arab world and split in the Palestinian community in the form of Hamas and Al-Fatah has deepened its programme to settle hundreds of thousands of Jews in the West Bank. With the rise of radical Islamic group Hamas and its winning of elections in Gaza in 2007, Palestinian infighting reached its peak with Hamas controlling Gaza and the PLO led Al-Fatah by President Mahmoud Abbas controlling the West Bank. Ten years of infighting between Hamas and Al-Fatah not only weakened the Palestinian struggle but also strengthened the hold of Israel. The very struggle to establish an independent Palestinian state reached a stalemate with Israel pursuing an inflexible and intransigent approach on the demands of PLO like the formation of an independent Palestinian homeland and the return of Palestinian refugees who were uprooted since the formation of Israel back to their homes. Palestinians were killing Palestinians which encouraged Israel to launch fierce attack over Gaza in 2015 resulting into hundreds of casualties and displacement of people. After 10 years of back to back debacles, the Palestinian leadership from Hamas and Al-Fatah agreed to mend fences and establish National Unity Government. Hamass readiness to support the holding of general elections in West Bank and Gaza is a reflection of a major reality that its isolation in the region has not helped achieve its objectives as Al-Fatah administration in West Bank is recognised as a legitimate Palestinian authority. The writer is Meritorious Professor of International Relations at the University of Karach