, Hamas's deputy politburo chief, explains to Amira Howeidy his group's vision of the Palestinian reconciliation plan and how they got there It took an Egyptian revolution and a failed peace process for Fatah and Hamas to finally sign a reconciliation agreement they've been negotiating without success for four years. The agreement that was brokered by the new leadership of the Egyptian intelligence division was signed Tuesday with the blessings of 15 Palestinian factions. The signing ceremony was held Wednesday morning in the presence of the factions and several Arab foreign ministers and Turkey's foreign minister. The agreement should end a four- year conflict between Fatah and Hamas, ongoing since the latter won elections in 2006 and later seized control of Gaza in June 2007 after a power struggle with the US-supported Fatah. The two factions will now begin talks to form a caretaker government with a one year mandate to resolve a series of complicated issues, including restructuring the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), paving the way for elections that will be held on 4 May 2012, and merging the security apparatuses currently operating separately in Gaza for Hamas and in the West Bank for Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority (PA). Cairo first started hosting reconciliation talks between various Palestinian factions in 2003, prior to the Hamas-Fatah divide. Since then, the process witnessed several turning points and produced several agreements, each reflecting the political mood and calculations of the time. In October 2009, Cairo offered a detailed 16-page national reconciliation paper that both sides refused to sign, arguing that it gave the other party the upper hand in several issues, including the restructuring of the security apparatus and the PLO. After talks reached a deadlock, Cairo eventually shelved its reconciliation efforts, until last week when both Fatah and Hamas made the surprise announcement in the Egyptian capital of agreeing to sign an agreement. The base of the agreement is the 2009 Egyptian proposal with some amendments. The two factions also signed the Damascus "understanding" agreement that was drafted in the Syrian capital last September on the formation of a central election committee to oversee Palestinian elections. For the time being this is a moment of victory for Hamas. Despite Israel's 22-day war on Gaza in December 2008, and the continuation of Israel's strict siege of the Strip, Hamas refused to succumb to pressure. It patiently awaits an expected Egyptian decision to open Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt that will ultimately ease the harshness of the siege, if not thwart it. The group's deputy politburo chief , a 60-year-old mechanical engineer who holds a PhD in industrial engineering, appears relaxed and optimistic about the agreement. In interview with Al-Ahram Weekly on Monday evening in his Cairo hotel room, Abu Marzouk said that when the Egyptians shelved reconciliation efforts last year, several mediators stepped in, including Turkey, Jordan and a number of independent Palestinian figures four months ago, until Hamas was directly contacted by the new post-revolution leadership of Egyptian intelligence. According to Abu Marzouk, the "breakthrough" that resulted in an agreement is the outcome of several factors, including the fall of the Mubarak regime, which adopted a biased approached in Fatah's favour during the talks. On the Palestinian front, there was no progress in a peace settlement between the PA and Israel, with negotiations between them grinding to a halt, in addition to PA President Mahmoud Abbas's statements in March in which he said he would declare a Palestinian state in September. "He believes this should happen under [conditions of] national Palestinian unity," Abu Marzouk said. The biggest stumbling block that faced prior reconciliation talks was the security file. Critics believe it's still a thorn in the side of both factions. Under the Oslo Accords, the PA is obliged to perform Israel's role in the areas that are not under its control, and to disarm the Palestinian resistance, which it has dutifully done. On the other hand, both Fatah and Hamas formed their own security apparatuses following the division in 2007, creating a complex security situation. For now, Abu Marzouk appears satisfied with a temporary fix proposed by Abbas to keep the status quo: the security apparatus in Gaza will remain intact, and its equivalent in the West Bank will continue to operate during the interim period, until elections are held and a new government takes over and resolves the issue as it sees fit. "We're not opposed to this formula," Abu Marzouk said. Similarly, Hamas doesn't mind the vision proposed by the 2009 Egyptian paper on restructuring the security apparatus into one unified system. The Egyptian paper stipulates that the security apparatus should "respect the Palestinian people's right to resist", but is that practical given the PA's mandate to quash the resistance? Abu Marzouk avoids a straight answer. "There has to be Palestinian-Palestinian agreement on managing the conflict with the Zionist enemy. If we achieve this, there will always be a way to address problems." For now, it appears that the resistance doesn't have solid answers on the fate of the resistance, and speculation is rife on an unofficial one-year truce to be observed by both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad during the interim period. But the Hamas leader denies this, saying "there was no talk whatsoever with Jihad or any other resistance faction on ways to manage the conflict in the coming period to determine the strategy of the resistance." In Abu Marzouk's words, the coming caretaker government will be a "heavy duty" cabinet expected to resolve several complex issues, including the restructuring of the PLO to include both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. It's expected to devise methods to overcome logistical problems that could hamper electing the Palestinian National Council (PNC -- the PLO's legislative body, that represents the Palestinian population in the occupied territories and the Diaspora), which is on hold since the Oslo Accords in 1993. Elections for the PNC will be held in parallel with presidential and legislative elections a year from now. While anything could happen to thwart this year-long process, Abu Marzouk says they have no option but to wait for the interim government to fulfil its mandate, which includes uniting the various Palestinian institutions after four years of division. "It's a difficult process and requires unrelenting efforts." Meanwhile, Hamas's eyes are on Rafah Crossing, which Egypt is expected to open, following statements made by Foreign Minister Nabil El-Arabi last week on "easing" the "shameful" siege of Gaza. "Cairo hasn't yet to issue that decision," said Abu Marzouk. He described El-Arabi's statements as "responsible" and demonstrating post-revolutionary Egypt's new policy of filling the regional "vacuum" carved out by the previous regime. "Cairo must restore its regional role, and it needs to take several bold steps, most significantly in the Palestinian question and now the Rafah Crossing," he said. Abu Marzouk envisions the crossing -- Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that is not controlled by Israel -- as more than "an exit and entry" doorway. "It should be a reciprocal relationship between Gazans and their older sister [Egypt]," but it's "an Egyptian decision" to decide on when and if to open the crossing.
