Aiming to save the agreement signed recently in Cairo, Egypt will again gather the divided Palestinian factions in the name of reconciliation and unity, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah Egypt, the main broker of Palestinian reconciliation, has been extending invitations to various Palestinian factions for further discussion on problems impeding the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. A meeting has already taken place in Cairo between Egyptian intelligence officials and representatives of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), the second most important Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) faction after Fatah. More meetings between Egyptian officials and representatives of various Palestinian factions are planned for the next few weeks. Rabah Muhanna, a PFLP spokesman in Gaza, said the Egyptians were holding meetings with factional leaders and discussing ways and means to overcome problems hindering the formation of a new Palestinian government that would be acceptable to all factions, especially Fatah and Hamas. Muhanna said the interim Egyptian leadership was devoting real attention to the issue of Palestinian reconciliation despite its own internal troubles, adding that the Palestinian situation was always and would always be a matter of Egyptian national security. PFLP interim leader Abdel-Rahim Mallouh this week blamed both Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-run government in Gaza, for the continuation of the reconciliation predicament, calling on them both to resign. In the same interview with the Maan News Agency, Mallouh castigated the Fatah PA leadership, saying that "we are subjected to a financial decapitation every time we criticise PA political performance." Earlier a number of Palestinian officials dismissed reports and rumours that the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is not particularly enthusiastic about pursuing reconciliation talks with Hamas at a time when the PA is planning to seek international support for UN recognition of a Palestinian state. "We don't think that the two tracts, national reconciliation and seeking UN recognition, contradict each other; we think they complement each other," said Azzam Al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah parliamentary caucus in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). He added that the Palestinians couldn't achieve their national goals without real national reconciliation. "The persistence of division is an Israeli interest. This is the reason why Israel lost composure when the initial reconciliation agreement was signed in Cairo a few months ago." Another Fatah leader, Mahmoud Alul, a former governor of Nablus, said the PA would have to form the new government before September. "We can't go the UN divided and disunited. We must form the new government as soon as possible." Alul said contacts with Hamas were continuing and that positive results were expected soon. Meanwhile, a delegation of independent Palestinian figures from both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, headed by Yasser Wadyeh, met this week in Ramallah with Yasser Uthman, the Egyptian ambassador to the PA. Wadyeh described the meeting as positive and fruitful, adding that discussions centered on getting the reconciliation agreement implemented. Ambassador Uthman reportedly told the delegates the Egyptian leadership was going to extend invitations to Palestinian factions for further discussion on the reconciliation issue. Wadyeh said the Palestinian people and their just cause suffered immensely as a result of division. In a related development, the Turkish government has invited representatives of Fatah and Hamas for reconciliation talks in Ankara. The talks are expected to complement ongoing Egyptian efforts to save the initial Cairo reconciliation agreement between the two largest Palestinian factions. Turkey has good relations with both Hamas and the PA leadership and is widely seen as showing concern for the collective Palestinian good. Moreover, there have been unsubstantiated reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning a visit to Gaza to identify with the Palestinian people. Erdogan reportedly urged PA President Mahmoud Abbas to speed up the reconciliation process with Hamas during his latest visit to Ankara. In a significant overture, which some observers contend reflects Hamas's commitment to reconciliation with Fatah, Palestinian Islamist leaders have extended their support for PA plans to seek recognition for a prospective Palestinian state in September. Aziz Deweik, speaker of the PLC, said Hamas fully supported efforts at the United Nations. He warned against succumbing to American and Israeli pressures, saying the resumption of "futile peace talks" would be a reproduction of the same failure and disappointment the Palestinians experienced during many years of useless talks with Israel. "The Americans and Israel believe that the PA leadership is easy to bully, easy to blackmail, easy to control. The leadership must demonstrate to the Palestinian people and to friends and foes alike that we don't succumb to pressure and that American and Israeli bullying won't make us abandon our paramount national goals." Deweik urged Abbas to include Palestinian factions in the decision-making process pertaining to plans to seek UN recognition. "this is a matter of immense strategic importance for the Palestinian people and its cause. The PA leadership should consult with the elected representatives of the Palestinian people as to the most appropriate ways and means to achieve national goals." Despite efforts to draw a somewhat positive picture of the internal Palestinian arena, certain measures continued to mar and spoil relations between Fatah and Hamas. This week, the Palestinian security agencies in the Hebron region dismissed six school teachers on suspicion of affiliation with Hamas. Such "provocations" coupled with the continued incarceration of Hamas activists in the West Bank are bound to maintain a state of mutual mistrust between the two movements and consequently undermine reconciliation efforts. Fatah, which dominates the PA government in Ramallah, claims it has nothing to do with "security measures" taken by the government of Fayyad against Hamas sympathisers. Hamas says Fatah must shoulder its national responsibility and either publicly condemn the continued crackdown on Hamas or withdraw support from Fayyad.
