MIDEAST: Egypt Plays Best Man at Hamas-Fatah Union
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo on Wednesday, paving the way for the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. The move, say local analysts, reflects the changing political equation in the Middle East amid the ongoing wave of Arab popular uprisings.
'The revolutions currently sweeping the region - especially the fall of Egypt's Mubarak regime - have altered the strategic balance, particularly as it pertains to the Arab-Israeli file,' Mohamed Megahid al- Zayat, assistant director of the Cairo-based National Centre for Middle-East Studies, told IPS.
On Apr. 27, Fatah and Hamas unexpectedly announced plans to sign an agreement aimed at forming a national unity government composed of independent technocrats. According to the deal, which followed weeks of secret talks in Cairo, the new unity government would remain in place until Palestinian legislative and presidential elections are held within one year.
A statement issued by Egypt's general-intelligence apparatus, which brokered the agreement, noted that the talks had 'resulted in full understandings on all points of discussion, including setting up an interim agreement with specific tasks and setting a date for elections.'
On Wednesday, the two factions, along with 11 other smaller Palestinian groups, officially endorsed the agreement in Cairo. A formal signing ceremony on Thursday is expected to be attended by Fatah headman and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal.
Three joint committees have reportedly been drawn up to discuss means of integrating the two factions' security forces, restructuring the Palestinian Liberation Organisation to accommodate Hamas, and establishing a system and timetable for upcoming elections. The accord also reportedly calls for a prisoner exchange between the two sides.
Hamas and Fatah have pursued bitter rivalry since 2006, when Palestinian legislative elections were swept by Hamas and its platform of armed resistance against Israel. Mutual animosity between the two factions reached boiling point the following year, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led PA.
Since then, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip, while the PA has continued to operate out of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Unlike Hamas, the U.S.-backed PA - known for maintaining close security and intelligence ties with Israel - is committed to pursuing a discredited 'peace process'. The most recent round of PA-Israel talks broke down last September following the latter's refusal to halt construction of Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land.
Further complicating the situation, Israel and Egypt - with the PA’s blessing - have both kept their borders with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip tightly sealed for the last four years. The de facto siege has effectively cut the enclave off from the rest of the world, depriving its roughly 1.8 million inhabitants of desperately needed foodstuffs, fuel, medical supplies and building materials.
According to Egyptian analysts, the breakthrough in Cairo comes as a direct consequence of the Feb. 11 ouster of longstanding Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Since then, the country's affairs have been run by Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has promised to hold democratic national elections later this year.
'Mubarak's departure removed Fatah's chief regional ally from the equation, prompting it to reconcile with Hamas,' said al-Zayat. 'Hamas, meanwhile, signed on to the deal because it knows the SCAF government will be a far more even-handed mediator than the Mubarak regime ever was.'
© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service