Palestinian rift will only benefit Israel

Barely a week had passed since a cease-fire agreement was reached between the Palestinians and Israel, through Egyptian mediation, before verbal clashes ensued between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas over the 50-day Gaza war. Abbas accused the resistance group of prolonging the war and refusing offers to reach a truce before discussing its full demands. In his view this has increased the number of Palestinian casualties. He said that what Hamas accepted in the end was the same offer that was presented to it on the 10th day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Furthermore, Abbas accused Hamas of running a “shadow government” in Gaza and preventing the national accord government from carrying out its duties, which could harm the reconciliation agreement that was reached few months ago.
He also criticized Hamas for unilaterally taking war and peace decisions and for interfering in the flow of aid going to Gaza. On its part Hamas cast off such accusations and criticized the government of Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamad for failing to do its part in Gaza. It also rejected proposals that a West Bank committee oversees rebuilding efforts in the stricken strip.
Fatah and Hamas traded accusations over the holding of activists in the West Bank and Gaza. Abbas described Hamas’ public executions of alleged Israeli spies as “criminal.” The show of unity and solidarity that Palestinians from various groups exhibited during the Israeli aggression on Gaza seems to have ended, allowing differences and mistrusts to resurface.
There have always been doubts over the seriousness of both Fatah and Hamas to end their rift, which lasted for over seven years. Both parties have engaged in hostile acts against followers and key leaders. Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007, has resisted pressure to allow the Palestinian Authority (PA) to return to the Strip. And on its part the Fatah faction has made sure to undermine Hamas’ presence in the West Bank. As a result of the widening gap between the two sides the Palestinian political process was hamstrung. Deadlines for presidential and legislative elections were missed time and again while Abbas consolidated his grip over the West Bank and Hamas became the absolute ruler in Gaza.
Geopolitical changes in the region compelled both parties to ameliorate their positions. The uprising in Syria forced Hamas to sever ties with the Syrian regime and as a result its alliance with both Iran and Hezbollah was shaken. The overthrow of President Muhammad Mursi in Egypt last year dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, which was supported by the Mursi government.
Meanwhile, Israel continued to tighten its land, sea and air blockade of Gaza leaving Hamas both isolated and discredited. It was a combination of all these developments that forced Hamas to revisit the issue of Palestinian reconciliation one more time. Abbas, on his part, had good reasons to embrace his Gaza archrivals. After almost a year of unfruitful negotiations with the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under American auspices, he had come out empty handed. Israel had accelerated its colonization of West Bank territory and offered the Palestinian president nothing.
Abbas and Hamas saw the revival of reconciliation efforts as a way out from dire straits. The culmination of an agreement between the two in April angered Israel, which sought to undermine Palestinian unity.
But the kidnapping and subsequent killing of three Israeli youth last June in the West Bank was blamed on Hamas, which denied the accusation. Israel used that incident as a pretext to arrest hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank, including those who were freed under the Shailt deal, and later to wage war on Gaza. Hamas claimed that it was forced to go to war and vowed to resist, rejecting offers for a cease-fire until all its demands, paramount among them the removal of the blockade, are fulfilled. Abbas hesitated at first but then threw his weight behind the resistance. He formed a delegation representing all Palestinian factions to go to Cairo for indirect negotiations and embraced Hamas’ demands.
The Gaza war was a costly one for the Palestinians. More than 2,200 Palestinians died in Gaza as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression while hundreds of thousands were displaced. And even when both Hamas and Israel agreed to a month-long truce it is not clear that future negotiations will end Israel’s siege and pave the way for the opening of a seaport and airport in Gaza, among other things.
Statements last week by a leading Hamas official, Saleh Al-Arouri, who is in exile in Turkey, that the movement was in fact responsible for the kidnapping of the three Israeli settlers, will deepen the current rift. The pressing question now is how will these differences affect the Cairo negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel? Surely what Netanyahu could not achieve through his assault on Gaza will be delivered to him now at no cost at all.
Buoyant after its so-called victory in Gaza, Hamas is hesitant to allow Abbas and the PNA to reclaim control of the Strip. But that is the only way for the endurance of the reconciliation and a precondition for ending the Gaza siege. It is sad that after the hefty price that Gazans have paid, the current inter-Palestinian rift could render their sacrifices meaningless!
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