Palestinians look forward to a political breakthrough
This month, the Islamist Hamas party in
The agreement came from
The announcement followed Egyptian efforts to reach a rapprochement between Hamas and
In the meantime, Hamas demanded Abbas lift a number of sanctions imposed on the Gaza-based movement a few months ago. Funding for fuel, needed to generate electricity in
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now waiting for the consensus government of Ramallah to arrive in
Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, addressed world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly in
Abbas maintained that the two-state solution, as envisioned by
In the Gaza Strip, two million residents have been under siege by Israel for ten long years, and many are now keenly looking forward to a political breakthrough |
Abbas referred to the UN's partition plan of 1947, which divided the lands of historical
The Palestinian president also called for a concrete effort from President Donald Trump's administration towards finding peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
In the Gaza Strip, two million residents have been under siege by Israel for ten long years, and many are now keenly looking forward to a political breakthrough - reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The optimism isn't universal, however.
"I believe that there will be no reconciliation," said Nabil Alsaqa, a student at the University of Palestine in Gaza.
"This is partly because
But Mahmoud Alajramy, a leading political analyst, believes that reconciliation could work out - this time. Both Hamas and Fatah have signed a series of reconciliation deals, one of which was also in
"[Abbas' UN] speech can facilitate reconciliation with Hamas. I feel it is also a partial reaction to Israeli policy. But the speech has not indicated any seriousness towards that reconciliation with Hamas, and has not ostensibly referred to the national Palestinian constant rights," Alajramy told The New Arab.
Mousa Abu Marzouq, an exiled Hamas leader, voiced his party's readiness to accept a peaceful settlement with
Hamas has been criticised for rejecting three international demands: recognising Israel, renouncing violence and accepting past-signed peace agreements. Israel, meanwhile, has not been held to the same standard |
Naji Shurrab, another leading Gaza-based political analyst, appeared sceptical towards prospects of a genuine solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"It seems that peace, from the American perspective, is based on stages. This would first start with normalisation between
"The other stage would be political containment of the Islamist Hamas, by supporting reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas in
Over the past ten years, Hamas has not been involved in the Palestinian Authority-led peace process with
Since it won elections in 2006, Hamas has been criticised for rejecting three international demands: recognising Israel, renouncing violence and accepting past-signed peace agreements.
Israel, meanwhile, has not been held to the same standard; it has yet to define its borders in a way that could be recognised, it has not ended violent military raids on Palestinian homes and continues to act directly against the Oslo peace accords with its settlement construction and expansion.
In Gaza, following internecine fighting between the rival factions in the year after the election, Hamas routed Fatah from the Strip in 2007, leading Israel to impose its stringent economic blockade of the territory and launch three major attacks, in late 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Some 80 percent of
Rami Almeghari is a Palestinian freelance journalist living and working in Gaza. Follow him on Twitter: @writeralmeghari