Palestinian unity is still unreachable, writes Saleh El-Naami The delegation of independent Palestinian public figures that recently met with Egyptian General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman was surprised to learn that Palestinian national dialogue is frozen until Hamas agrees, without preconditions, to the Egyptian reconciliation proposal. Their surprise stems from a general impression in Gaza and the West Bank, enforced by leaks to the media, that Cairo is preparing another reconciliation plan, aiming to convince Hamas to sign off on it and end divisions plaguing the Palestinians. According to Palestinian political writer and analyst Hani El-Masri, who was part of the delegation, Suleiman made it clear that Egypt will not revise its proposal "or change a single word, because it is based on a bilateral and comprehensive dialogue which lasted months. Any revisions would detract from Egypt's stature and security, and would be an attempt to twist its arm. This will never happen and is unacceptable." El-Masri related that Suleiman repeatedly blamed Hamas for delaying dialogue and not wanting to reconcile. Suleiman also made it very clear that Hamas cannot participate in the formation of any future Palestinian government, not even with one single minister, if it does not agree to the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). El-Masri believes that Suleiman is implying that if Israel, the US and the world community does not recognise Hamas -- enabling it to play an effective role in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and PLO -- it would not be allowed to participate in the government. This means that the Palestinian national dialogue is no longer an internal matter, but an Israeli, American and international matter. "If elections are held in the absence of national reconciliation and Hamas wins by a sweeping or partial majority in the coming elections, it will be blocked from forming a government by itself, participating in a coalition or national unity government," explained El-Masri. "This is unless the government that Hamas joins upholds the obligations of the PLO and the conditions of the Quartet." But, the Palestinian analyst countered, if Hamas agrees to the conditions of the Quartet, even in an indirect way, by joining a government that upholds these obligations, it would be "political suicide". El-Masri elaborated that, "if Hamas is willing to recognise Israel, reject violence and commit to agreements, in a direct or indirect way, this means it has abandoned its raison d'être and agenda. It would no longer need Cairo or anyone else, but could directly approach the powers in Washington and Tel Aviv and strike a deal with them." El-Masri believes that placing such unjust conditions on the Palestinian government without stipulating any for Israel, which continues to ignore its commitments and signed agreements at a time when bilateral negotiations have ground to a halt, is an exaggerated position that must not stand. He explained that Hamas's major concern about the Egyptian proposal is that it would lead to the implementation of only one clause -- namely holding elections -- which would end its singlehanded control of Gaza and strip the movement of its legitimacy without guaranteeing that it would become a full partner in the PA and PLO. El-Masri sees an alternative to this scenario by testing the idea proposed by the national reconciliation committee, after it met with Suleiman, recommending the launch of a national dialogue to reach a joint interpretation of the Egyptian plan that would enable Hamas to sign it. Nabil Shaath, member of the Fatah Central Committee, admitted that national reconciliation efforts have failed as Hamas refuses to sign the reconciliation plan. After contacts with Egyptian officials, Shaath concluded that efforts to launch a dialogue have reached a dead end "in light of Hamas's refusal to sign". He added that Hamas is prioritising the exchange of prisoners with Israel, and it will not move ahead on anything until this issue is resolved. On the other hand, Khalil Al-Hayya, member of Hamas's Political Bureau, insisted his movement is "exerting all efforts to end divisions and achieve comprehensive national reconciliation as a preamble for full political partnership." Al-Hayya noted that reconciliation must be based on a proper foundation and within the framework of a comprehensive national policy, which protects resistance and recovers rights. "Hamas went above and beyond, agreeing to immense concessions in order to make reconciliation possible," he stated. "Fatah has met all this with more intransigence, while pursuing and arresting hundreds of Hamas members in the West Bank. It also prevented a symbol of Palestinian legitimacy, Aziz El-Duweik, from doing his job, along with the movement's elected representatives." According to Al-Hayya, "despite all the pain, reconciliation remains a necessity and a Palestinian interest. But shouldn't the air be cleared before reconciliation?" He denied that his movement is hostile towards Egypt, praising the role Cairo is playing to end divisions and reach an agreement. Al-Hayya also called for reconsideration of the suggestions and amendments to the Egyptian plan made by the Palestinian factions. He pointed out that Hamas is not the only group that wanted revisions, but is joined at least by four others. Al-Hayya called for the revival of the PLO's status by restructuring and reorganising its internal workings, "on proper bases that would allow the participation of resistance factions that support the rights of the Palestinian people and Palestinian fundamentals, especially the right of return for refugees." He strongly criticised the PA's decision to issue passports to refugees, since this would dissolve the issue of the refugees and annul their right of return to the towns and villages they were forced to leave in 1948. The PA considers them citizens it is responsible for and manages their affairs through the Department of Refugee Affairs, he explained. Mohamed El-Hendi, member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine, asserted that the only way out of the current Palestinian situation is "agreeing on a political agenda and drawing up a national context to include all things Palestinian." El-Hendi argued that it would be futile to extend the tenure of the Palestinian president and parliament because divisions and differences will continue. He warned that elections alone cannot resolve most of the differences, and in the absence of national reconciliation balloting will not achieve genuine agreement. El-Hendi called for well-defined Palestinian positions and the implementation of what was agreed upon in Cairo in 2005 regarding the restructuring of the PLO to offer membership to everyone. The bickering has given rise to complaints from within as well as without the organisation. Meanwhile, as Hamas celebrates the 22nd anniversary of its creation, the effectiveness of being in power as a resistance movement is still debatable. Some observers believe that combining power and resistance was a mistake; that Hamas's decision to participate in elections and form a government was based on incorrect assumptions, and that Hamas believed the elections were not part of the agreements that the movement had strongly opposed. It soon became obvious to Hamas, however, that the Gaza Strip was not only constrained by the restrictions of Oslo, but that Israel also could invent new and harsher restrictions. Tel Aviv remains able to control Gaza via land, air and sea. Critics argue that Hamas thought its participation in the elections would empower the resistance, but in reality the opposite occurred: Hamas's rise to power gave Israel an opportunity to manipulate the movement. It responded to resistance operations by blocking services that the government in Gaza could provide. This forced Hamas to end resistance operations by creating a rift between the resistance and the people. The resistance found itself in further trouble after Hamas took power in Gaza and the regime in Ramallah publicly joined the war on Hamas with the encouragement of Washington and regional players.
