The Palestinian Authority’s unity government convened its first meeting in the Gaza Strip, in a move toward reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who chaired the meeting, declared the latest developments as opening the door for hope and Palestinian unity. PM Hamdallah said, “Today we are back again in Gaza to overcome all the obstacles and open the door for hope, will, and unity. and to give the government of national consensus the chance to assume all its responsibilities in the southern governorates in all sectors side by side with all the Palestinian parties,” the Palestinian Prime Minister declared.
The bid to reach reconciliation, the latest in a series of several attempts, between the Western-backed Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the internationally recognized terror group, the Islamist Hamas organization, came after the latter decided, under immense economic and political pressure, to disband its shadow government that administered the Gaza Strip, a move that was brokered by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi. As such, the Egyptian President sent his intelligence chief to the Gaza Strip to oversee the transfer of power from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority. In a meeting with Hamas Political Chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Egyptian Intelligence Chief Khaled Fawzi declared that the joy of the Palestinian residents of Gaza illustrates the latest reconciliation bid is a move in the right direction. The Egyptian Intelligence Chief said, “The happiness of the Palestinians in the streets is the biggest proof that we are moving in the right direction. These people want to live. These people have hope,” he asserted. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh declared the visit by the Egyptian intelligence chief as a source of optimism with regard to ending the long-standing division between Fatah and Hamas, while welcoming Egypt’s invitation to hold meetings with their Palestinian rivals in Cairo next week, to assure that this round of reconciliation talks would be successful. Haniyeh said, “This visit means a lot to us and it offers us a lot of optimism that division is behind us and that the chapter of division is closed forever.” The Hamas leader added, “We will always move forward, and achieve this reconciliation. We are honored to accept the invitation of the Minister (Khaled Fawzi) and our brothers in Egypt, to meet our brothers in the Fatah movement next week, in Cairo, to start the direct talks in the cases related to the work of the government, and hopefully with our brothers in Egypt, in what they represent to us as Palestinians and Arabs in their presence, for all of us,” he declared. While the reconciliation bid shows more promise than in previous attempts, residents of the Palestinian enclave voiced cautious optimism with regard to the viability of implementing a much-desired agreement, emphasizing that only through international pressure unity can become a reality on the ground.