On April 23, 2014, Fatah and Hamas signed a new reconciliation agreement that provides for the formation of a unity government within five weeks, followed by presidential and legislative elections within 6 months. [54] On June 2, 2014, President Abbas was sworn in in the new technocratic unity government led by outgoing Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said world leaders should not rush to recognize the new government, calling Hamas a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The Palestinian prime minister`s office issued a statement condemning Netanyahu`s words as aimed at continuing Israel`s occupation of the Palestinian territories. [55] Israel suspended peace talks and announced new sanctions. [56] Despite the announced agreement on the Rafah crossing, it is unlikely to make much of a difference in practical terms for goods entering Gaza from Egypt, while truck traffic to northern Sinai remains limited by the Egyptian military due to the ongoing security crisis there. Despite a number of agreements, these attempts have not yet been successful, as Hamas still exercised full control of the Gaza Strip despite the formation of the “unity government” in June 2014. Israel and the United States have indeed opposed reconciliation. [1] The fine print of the agreement will be scrutinized by Israel and the Palestinian Authority`s international donors for its implications. The agreement could have far-reaching legal implications for funding U.S.
aid. Fourteen Palestinian factions attending a summit in Cairo announced Late Tuesday that they had reached an agreement that would set guidelines for the first Palestinian national elections in nearly 15 years. In December 2015 and January 2016, Hamas and Fatah held secret talks brokered by Qatar in Doha in an attempt to complete the 2014 agreement. [57] Talks resumed on February 7 and 8. Egypt did not participate in this round of negotiations. Hamas issued a brief statement on February 8 in which it said both sides had reached a practical vision of a solution that needed to be discussed and implemented. Fatah leader Abdullah Abdullah said a solution should force Hamas to cede the Gaza Strip, and on September 23. In February, Fatah politician Jibril Rajoub issued a statement that he should not allow Hamas to continue to “conquer” the Gaza Strip. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, criticized Rajoub`s statement, saying it increased tensions and did not serve reconciliation. [58] In March 2012, Abbas said there were no political differences between Hamas and Fatah because they had agreed on a common political platform and ceasefire with Israel.
Commenting on relations with Hamas, Abbas revealed in an interview with Al-Jazeera: “We agreed that the period of calm would take place not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank,” adding: “We also agreed on peaceful popular resistance [against Israel], the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, and that peace talks would continue, if Israel stopped building settlements and accepted our terms. [44] [45] The sentiment is also reflected in Joharah Baker`s article on Palestinian MIFTAH, in which he deplores the reaction of the United States and Israel: “The comment [and advice] of these friends of the breast is unjustified and even undesirable. It will be difficult to resist the pressure. The two sides have not even signed a formal agreement and Israel is doing everything it can. But the Palestinians, for some reason, were right this time. “This is not Israel`s business,” presidential adviser Nabil Abu Rdeineh joked, a day after the first deal in Cairo last week. “It`s an internal matter and Israel has nothing to do with it, nor is it a part of it.” That sums it up pretty well. Neither Israel nor the United States has anything to do with Palestinian internal affairs. By the way, if you are a supporter of democracy, you had better go all the way. Otherwise, you go out and you look like a hypocrite. The Doha Agreement, signed in February 2012 by Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashal, has been described as a step forward in the stalled implementation of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo in April 2011. [43] Both sides agreed that the new government “will work to unify laws and institutions and have security oversight over all areas.” A coalition government appears to be giving the people of Gaza the opportunity to exercise their freedom of movement and benefit from reconstruction work in the enclave. .