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A glimmer of hope
The Egyptian proposal approved by Fatah and Hamas opens the door to
closing inter-Palestinian rifts, writes Saleh Al-Naami
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After many meetings, consultations and deliberations the Egyptian
government has succeeded in formulating a draft agreement for Palestinian
national reconciliation which both Fatah and Hamas have approved in principle.
The Palestinian National Project, as it is called, was submitted to
representatives of the Palestinian factions on Sunday.
The proposed project calls for the creation of a national
reconciliation government "with specified tasks". These include lifting the
blockade, managing daily affairs, preparing for new legislative and
presidential elections, and overseeing the creation of non- partisan,
professionally-based national security services. The document specifies that
presidential and legislative elections should be held simultaneously at a date
agreed between the factions and in accordance with a revised electoral law and
encourages moves, first mooted in the 2005 Cairo Agreement, to expand the
Palestine Liberation Organisation to include all Palestinian forces and
factions. Towards this end the draft agreement urges new PLO national council
elections inside the Palestinian territories and abroad.
Under the terms of the document all factions agree to maintain calm
with Israel within the framework of a reconciliation agreement between them and
to promote a domestic climate that permits the implementation of the agreed
points in the national dialogue. The document also stipulates the creation of
specialised committees on all pending issues -- the creation of the national
reconciliation government, the overhaul of the security services, reactivating
the PLO and elections and the electoral law. It places the conduct of all
political negotiations under the authority of the PLO and the Palestinian
Authority president, and envisages that any settlement agreement be presented
to the PLO national council for ratification and, if feasible, to the
Palestinian people in a referendum. Finally, it states that the Palestinian
national dialogue must adhere to principles laid out in earlier documents,
including the Cairo and Mecca agreements (2007).
Fatah welcomed the draft project as an important step towards ending
current divisions. In a statement to Al-Ahram Weekly, Abdallah Abdallah,
chairman of the political committee in the National Assembly, said Fatah
"strongly values Egyptian efforts to end Palestinian divisions". Yet he
insisted that Mahmoud Abbas's presidential term must remain outside of the
bounds of the national dialogue.
A Hamas leader told the Weekly that while the movement agreed in
principle to the document several points needed to be modified and others
clarified. He stressed that Hamas "was not alone" in believing this. Although
he refused to clarify the points in question he said that the Hamas delegation
that is currently in Damascus will probably discuss these points with Egyptian
officials.
Leftist Palestinian forces say that while the Egyptian proposal is on
the whole balanced they have some reservations. Saleh Zeidan, of the Democratic
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), believes the Mecca Agreement
should have been excluded from the frames of reference since it is a bilateral
agreement between Fatah and Hamas. He also criticised the document for failing
to mention the need to adopt proportional representation in Palestinian
elections which would ensure the participation of all factions and end the
current monopoly over decision- making.
The current system, argues Zeidan, favours one, or at best, two
factions. He also believes the document should have listed the National
Reconciliation Project as the frame of reference for reactivating the PLO.
Lastly, on the matter of the proposed national reconciliation government,
Zeidan stresses that if its aim is to lift the blockade and arrange for new
elections it should be made up of independent figures.
Palestinian political analyst Nihad Al-Sheikh Khalil believes that most
of the points in the draft agreement are "ticking bombs" that could easily
explode and derail efforts at dialogue. He points out that the Egyptian
proposal "makes no reference to the political agenda of the new government or
the method of electing the new prime minister".
Hamas insists that the agenda of the forthcoming government should rest
on the Mecca agreement whereas Abbas wants to base it on the PLO programme. On
the question of restructuring the security agencies, Khalil warns that "the
wording is so loose it will jeopardise future talks on the issue". While Hamas
believes that the restructuring should apply to the security agencies in both
the West Bank and Gaza, Fatah insists that process should be restricted to
Hamas controlled Gaza.
There is a profound structural gap between Fatah and Hamas on the
question of security services, says Khalil. Whereas Abbas holds that security
coordination with the Israeli army is an integral part of the obligations of
the PA, Hamas maintains that such coordination is "tantamount to treason".
During their recent meetings with Egyptian officials, Khalil claims, Hamas
delegates insisted upon the dismissal of a number of security officials in the
West Bank, including head of Preventive Security Ziad Hab Al-Rih, chief of the
Palestinian General Intelligence Service Tawfiq Al-Tirawi -- already sacked by
Abbas Tuesday -- National Security Commander Diab Al-Ali and Director of
Military Intelligence Majid Faraj. Hamas holds these individuals responsible
for the detention of its leaders in the West Bank.
Khalil also thinks Hamas will refuse to accept simultaneous
presidential and legislative elections since to do so would be to tacitly
approve the extension of Abbas's term of office. But the greatest difficulty,
he argues, surrounds the paragraph regarding the future of the PLO. The
Egyptian proposal calls for the "developing and stimulating the PLO in
accordance with the Cairo Agreement of March 2005". The formula, he says, could
be construed as a way to maintain the current status quo in the PLO though all
Palestinian factions, apart from Fatah, demand the organisation be restructured
in a manner that reflects the balance of Palestinian political forces. The
draft agreement also fails to provide a timeframe for the Palestinian dialogue,
meaning talks could continue indefinitely.
The Palestinian dialogue is due to resume on 9 November. The general
atmosphere remains grim and without active and neutral Arab intervention the
sessions that are intended to bring the Palestinian factions closer together
may actually drive them further apart. (see p.8)
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