New reconciliation agreement.

The Palestinian factions, divided for more than 15 years, agreed on Thursday, October 13, on a document called "Declaration of Algiers", solemnly initialed by 14 factions, including the rivals of the Islamist Hamas and the secular Fatah, before Algerian television cameras.

This agreement promises legislative and presidential elections within a year.

In recent years, Fatah and Hamas have concluded numerous agreements or understandings providing for elections and a unity government, among other things, none of which have materialized.

The signing ceremony, preceded by Algerian and Palestinian anthems, took place in front of a large audience made up of members of the government, leaders of Algerian parties and ambassadors from Arab countries.

An “agreement to get rid of malignant cancer”

The declaration was signed in the Palais des Nations where, on November 15, 1988, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, "announced the creation of a Palestinian state", underlined the Algerian President, Abdelmajid Tebboune.

"We signed this agreement to get rid of the malignant cancer that has penetrated the Palestinian body: division," said Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah delegation.

He said he was "optimistic that the agreement will be implemented and will not remain as ink on paper".

Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh hailed for his part "a day of joy for Palestine and Algeria and for those who love the Palestinian cause".

“But it is a sad day for the Zionist entity (Israel),” he added.

Elections

The "Algiers Declaration" provides for elections by the end of October for the presidency and for the Palestinian Legislative Council, which serves as a parliament for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Polls scheduled for 2021, the first in 15 years, had been postponed indefinitely by Palestinian Authority President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, who argued they were not 'guaranteed' to be held in East Jerusalem , part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel.

This decision was castigated by Hamas.

The last legislative elections, in 2006, had led to a victory for the armed Islamist movement - considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - which had not been recognized by either Fatah or the international community.

A year and a half later, in 2007, bloody clashes opposed the two camps, leading to the birth of two separate political systems: the Palestinian Authority sits in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967 where 2.8 million Palestinians.

The Gaza enclave, home to 2.3 million people, is ruled by Hamas and has been under Israeli blockade ever since.

Some efforts

The meeting, strongly desired by Algeria, was held shortly before an Arab League summit scheduled in the Algerian capital on November 1 and 2.

On Wednesday, the Algerian president paid a "courtesy" visit to the participants in order to "encourage" them to seal their reconciliation.

"We appreciate Algeria's efforts for Palestinian unity and to face the Zionist occupation," said Anwar Abou Taha, member of the political bureau of Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group.

At the last minute, however, a paragraph on forming a government of national unity was dropped from the final text.

Fatah demanded that the participants of such an executive conform "to international legitimacy", according to sources close to the discussions.

A point that Hamas opposed.

Doubts about the reconciliation of rival factions have also been fueled by the absence of President Abbas who is currently in Kazakhstan.

Palestinian political analyst Khalil Chahine praised "the positive atmosphere of the discussions", but, he told AFP, "the document presented by Algeria is general and does not go into details". .

Algerian President Tebboune launched an initiative at the end of 2021 to reconcile Fatah and Hamas, and managed in early July to bring together President Abbas and Ismaïl Haniyeh in Algiers, a meeting portrayed as "historic".

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app