Palestinian factions come to Moscow for dialogue... What do they have up their sleeve?

From a previous meeting of Palestinian factions in Moscow (Al Jazeera)

Ramallah -

The Palestinian factions announced their intention to respond to the Russian call for dialogue at the end of this month, in an attempt by Moscow to make a breakthrough in the faltering Palestinian reconciliation file since the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) took control of the Gaza Strip in mid-2007.

Attention is directed to the Hamas and Palestinian National Liberation Movements (Fatah), as they are two sides of the division, with the hope that the current circumstances and the genocidal war the Palestinian people are exposed to in Gaza will be an impetus for rapprochement between the two movements.

While a political analyst lowered expectations from the dialogue, the Fatah movement stressed the need for Hamas to adhere to the PLO program and international agreements as a prelude to joining under its umbrella, while Hamas says that prior conditions do not help in reaching solutions to controversial issues.

On February 18 of this year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Russian invitation during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership, and stressed the necessity of adhering to the political program of the PLO “and ending the outcomes of the coup in 2007, and adhering to the principle of one authority, one law, one legitimate weapon, and peaceful popular resistance.”

On the 16th of this month, Russia announced that it had invited the leaders of the Palestinian factions - including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah - to talks in Moscow on the 29th of the same month, “which will extend until the first or second of next March,” according to what was announced by Deputy Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Hamas delegation during its visit to Moscow on the 19th of last month (communication sites)

The ball is in Hamas' court

In turn, Fatah movement spokesman Hussein Hamayel told Al Jazeera Net that the movement's delegation to Moscow includes committee members Azzam al-Ahad and Samir al-Rifai.

Regarding the dialogue agenda, he said that Russia “will raise the issue of internal reconciliation, and that everyone be under international legitimacy, the PLO, and the issue of the war on Gaza.”

As for the ceiling of expectations from the dialogue, he said, “The issue is left to the Hamas movement. We, as Fatah, are ready and willing to be flexible to the greatest extent on two conditions: the independence of the Palestinian decision, and national constants.”

Hamayel added that among the constants that “cannot be compromised” are the PLO, and the commitment of those under it to international legitimacy, “in order to be able to work later, given the great concern that awaits us and requires a government capable of working, especially the reconstruction of Gaza and others.” .

In order for the Moscow dialogues to succeed, the movement’s spokesman believes that “Hamas is required to agree to move forward with reconciliation without any maneuvering, and to adhere to the PLO agreements and its charter. We are not dealing with a partisan issue as much as it is the highest national interests of the Palestinian people.”

He continued, "In the end, there will be a unified national program, and Hamas knows that the issue of partisan maneuvering, speeches, and slogans are of no use in light of the devastation that befell the Palestinian people in Gaza and the big plans for the West Bank."

Conditions do not make the dialogue successful

For his part, Ayman Daraghmeh, the representative of the Hamas movement in the Legislative Council (Parliament), says, “The success of the dialogue requires retreating from the conditions set by President Abu Mazen, including recognition of the international legitimacy of the PLO’s entry.”

Daraghmeh added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, "The original thing is that they (the conditions) are withdrawn, and that they go to Moscow with good intentions, to form a position of pressure on the international and Arab community to stop the aggression against Gaza."

According to Daraghma, the presence of conditions on the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements “will not help” move the wheel of reconciliation, adding, “The two movements are required to adhere to the program of the Liberation Organization, and no one knows the program of the organization, and even the popular resistance that it adopts does not exist.”

He added, "The Fatah movement has no vision other than adhering to the organization's program. These things must be null and void, and there is no need for conditions."

He continued, "The factions that have the greatest weight - and this can be known from the results of a recent opinion poll - must have a share in the opinion about the program, or we will go to the Palestinian street to hold elections. If there is seriousness in the dialogue, then the principle is that there will be a unified leadership consisting of working secretaries." The factions are headed by the president as head of the Executive Committee, and they lead the political action program and form an agreed-upon government. This is currently accepted.”

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (center) attends part of the Palestinian reconciliation conference in Algeria in October 2022 (social networking sites)

Stressful factors

Outside of the differences between the Fatah and Hamas movements, Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, believes that Moscow’s call to the factions “reflects its interest in the general political situation in light of the war of extermination to which the Palestinian people are subjected.”

Abu Youssef stressed that what is needed more than ever is “how to improve the conditions of our people, whether with regard to stopping the war of genocide or rejecting displacement and the return of occupation by establishing facts on the ground.”

He added that the factions will discuss over a period of 3 days "the entire Palestinian issue, the importance of concerted efforts to stop the war of extermination in Gaza, and the issue of ending the division and Palestinian reconciliation."

Abu Youssef stressed "the Palestinians' need to put their internal house in order within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and for everyone to be included within its framework."

He added that the risks facing the Palestinian cause are “large and serious,” stressing the importance of Palestinian unity in rejecting aggression and the war of extermination, “and this is a priority for our people,” while preserving the most important achievement in the history of the people, which is the Palestine Liberation Organization.

He said, "The inclusion of everyone within the framework of the PLO is a protection for the entire Palestinian cause and a continuation of the struggle and struggle of our people for freedom and independence."

Nothing new is expected

Aside from politicians, political analyst Dr. Ahmed Rafiq Awad, head of the Al-Quds Center for Studies at Al-Quds University, asserts that the Moscow meetings will not bring anything new “despite their importance.”

Awad said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, "It is not possible to rely too much on the Moscow meeting, despite its importance, as it comes about a year after the El Alamein meetings in Egypt and constitutes an opportunity to exchange ideas."

In the opinion of the Palestinian analyst, the factions are “more intelligent, more sophisticated, and more appreciative of the idea that an agreement cannot be announced in Moscow due to geopolitical considerations,” and “the parties know their sizes and ceilings and to which capital they will sell the agreement if there is an agreement, when and how.”

Awad adds that Moscow wants to say that it has influence and maintains the relationship with all Palestinian parties to compete with America, even though it has less influence on the Palestinian factions than other parties.

Regarding the Fatah movement’s requirement that Hamas adhere to the PLO program and its commitments to international laws and legitimacy, he did not rule out that this would be “an international condition for the movement’s acceptance into the organization even though international laws have not led to practical results, which means that the world and the United States want to force the Palestinians to ceilings for resolving the conflict.” .

Source: Al Jazeera