Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Despite intensive efforts, the Middle East Peace Process could not be rekindled by the Obama Administration and the Palestinian unity deal could not be signed regardless of encouragement from outside countries, including Turkey. There were rumors that the Palestinian Authority (PA) leader, Mahmoud Abbas, might have stepped down and Abbas’ call for elections to be held on January 24, created further tensions between Palestinian factions.
Both the Arab world and interested countries like Turkey have been calling for a Palestinian unity government to negotiate with Israel and use a stronger hand. Intensive efforts under Egyptian mediation have lately been put in that regard, to bring Hamas and Fatah to the negotiation table to sign a deal. In a few cases, it had been announced that Hamas and Fatah were close to signing a deal, and that both would sign a Palestinian unity agreement on October 26. However, two simultaneous events hindered any deal between the rival factions. While the Palestinian Authority had agreed not to bring the Goldstone Report from the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, Hamas’ voice had been strengthened by the prisoner deal conducted with Israel that resulted in the release of 19 prisoners; only 1 of whom was from Hamas. Once more, this caused a rift between Hamas and Fatah as the latter accused the PA of "high treason." Khalid Meshaal had said that "for the first time an international report is condemning Israel for its aggression on the Palestinians. A Palestinian group, however, objected to the report; protected Israel and saved it from international condemnation." He declared Mahmoud Abbas to be "an illegitimate leader."
Since Hamas declared that it would not sign an agreement with Fatah and with the deteriorating chances for the peace process to continue, it was claimed that the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, might resign. Abbas was reported to have complained about the Israeli and Obama Administration’s attitudes towards the efforts against facilitating peace negotiations, especially at a time when the Palestinian Authority suffered political damage. A senior ranking official from the Fatah had denied the claim that Abbas was going to resign though.
The rift between the factions has deepened further as the Palestinian leader has called for elections in January and his standing has been decreasing vis-a -vis Hamas. Abbas’ decision came despite Hamas’ opposition. Hamas rejects Abbas’ call for elections because his tenure had already ended last January and Hamas announced that it would not only boycott the elections, but would not allow it to take place in the Gaza Strip and would not recognize the results. A Hamas legislator in the Gaza strip, Salah Bardaweel, claimed that Mahmoud violated the Palestinian constitution twice already; first by staying in power after his term of Office ended and now calling for new elections. A member of Hamas’ political bureau, Mohamed Nasr, has opposed any unilateral call for early elections and said that holding legislative and presidential elections without a national consensus means turning the division into a permanent separation. Hamas has declared that it would not only boycott elections but would also not allow it to take place in the Gaza Strip. allow it to take place in the Gaza Strip. The deepening rift between Palestinian factions might make efforts to start the peace process even harder at a time when there have been recent clashes in and around Masjid al-Aqsa and the tension on the societal level and suspicion on both sides have been intense.
This seemingly irreparable rift between Palestinian factions is very likely to hamper Turkey’s efforts for reconciliation between them. Turkey has long supported Hamas’ inclusion in negotiations and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that due to the approaching elections in Iraq and Palestine, the upcoming months would be very crucial for peace and stability in the Middle East. He urged the Palestinians to remove the rift and differences between them, form a unity government and negotiate more strongly with Israel. No official statement has been released by Turkish officials yet.
By Omer Aslan (JTW)
