BICOM

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal signed a deal to end a four year Palestinian split in Cairo yesterday. At the ceremony, Abbas said that the deal represented the turning of a ‘black page’ by the Palestinians.  Meshaal, meanwhile, said that the Palestinians’ only ‘battle’ was ‘against Israel.’  The Hamas leader said that the goal of the Palestinians was a state on the entirety of the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in Jerusalem, and without giving up the ‘right of return’ of refugees. According to a report in Haaretz, a last minute disagreement delayed the signing ceremony, over whether Abbas should be the sole speaker at the event. In the end, Mashal did speak, but his address was shorter than that of Abbas, and he did not sit on the podium. 

The squabble over protocol shows the considerable tensions between the sides. The factions will now face the difficult tasks of assembling a new government of independents, preparing parliamentary and presidential elections, agreeing changes to the structure of the PLO, and establishing security cooperation. The first issue to be resolved is the identity of the prime minister who will head the interim government.  Abbas reportedly wants current PM Salam Fayyad to continue in office. Hamas would like to see a resident of Gaza take this position.

The new government now faces tough questions from the international community about its approach to the peace process. In his Mansion House Speech on Wednesday night, Foreign Secretary William Hague said that, ‘Britain hopes that the announcement of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas will lead to the formation of a government that rejects violence and pursues a negotiated peace leading to a Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside Israel.’

Speaking to Israeli Channel 2 News on Wednesday night, Tony Blair cast doubt on the readiness of Hamas to renounce its extremist views or its support for terrorism, in light of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s description of Bin Laden as a ‘holy warrior’. Blair said, ‘If this [agreement] meant that Hamas were changing… this would be positive, but you only have to look at the reaction from Haniyeh [to the death of Bin Laden] to have the obvious response and question marks.’