Several Palestinian organizations, including Hamas and Fatah, announced on Friday March 1 their intention to relaunch their talks to “unite” their voices under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the day after a meeting about the post-war in the Gaza Strip organized in Moscow.
Shortly before the meeting, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority government resigned, which observers say could pave the way for the formation of an apolitical government to ultimately administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
While Washington and its Arab allies link the negotiation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to a global project to resolve the conflict, Fatah and Hamas are increasing contacts with a view to a reconciliation, constantly postponed. since their breakup in 2007.
Discussions « constructive »
During their meeting, the organizations represented in Moscow agreed to renew dialogue “in order to achieve comprehensive national unity including all Palestinian forces and organizations within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization”, according to the text of their joint declaration.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are considered terrorist organizations by many Western countries. The PLO is internationally recognized as the representative of Palestinians in the occupied territories and the diaspora. In recent years, discussions to integrate Hamas into the PLO have all ended in failure.
As part of their discussions, which they considered “constructive”, the Palestinian movements also agreed in particular to demand the “withdrawal” of Israeli forces present in the Gaza Strip, the creation of a State of Palestine and support for “reconstruction” after the war, they said in their press release.
In recent years, Russia, a member of the quartet of mediators for the Middle East, has strived to maintain good relations with all the actors in the conflict, including Fatah and Hamas, but the offensive in the Strip Gaza and the Israeli government’s hostility to the creation of a Palestinian state have led to a deterioration in relations with Moscow.
