BICOM

Despite the announcement yesterday of a unity agreement between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction and Hamas, it remains unclear exactly what impact the deal may have on Palestinian governance and relations with Israel.

Announcing the deal, Hamas’ political leader Ismael Haniyeh proclaimed, “This is the good news we have to tell the people: the era of discord is ended.” A joint statement endorsed by Fatah and Hamas stipulated that, “An agreement has been reached on the formation within five weeks of an independent government headed by president Mahmoud Abbas.” It also said that Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections would be held by the end of 2014.

However, the agreement has left many questions unanswered. It does not provide any indication whether Fatah and Hamas security forces will cooperate, an especially important issue given that the Fatah-dominated PA currently liaises with Israel over security on a regular basis. Hamas refuses to recognise Israel and remains ideologically committed to its destruction. There is also little idea of whether or not Palestinian territory will be governed by a single Palestinian law, with Hamas currently ruling the Gaza Strip according to its own legal code.

In the Israeli media this morning, there is scepticism over whether yesterday’s agreement will in fact be implemented, given the deep enmity between the two sides. A short-lived Palestinian unity government came to an end in 2007, when Hamas violently expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip. Subsequent attempts at reconciliation since then have proven fruitless, with a similar agreement to yesterday’s deal notably concluded in 2011 but never implemented.

Although Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat yesterday said, “National reconciliation is imperative in order to achieve a just and lasting peace,” some commentators have speculated that the unity deal is a populist move by Abbas while providing a new partner for an increasingly isolated Hamas.