Palestinian national dialogue is put off until after Ramadan while key players also await the new initiative of Barack Obama, writes Saleh Al-Naami Despite his attempts to hold back the tears, Gomaa Abu Sarar, 37 years old, began weeping while sitting in the tent set up to mourn his mother's death from cancer. What most upsets Gomaa, who lives in the Maghazi Refugee Camp in Gaza, is that his mother's life could have been saved if she'd been allowed to leave Gaza for treatment. His mother was unable to travel not just because the Rafah border was closed, but also because she could not get a passport. Salam Fayyad's government has refused to send passports to Gaza, as a way of undermining Ismail Haniyeh's government. "We suffer great oppression here," Gomaa told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We could have saved my mother if she had been allowed to leave the country. The hospitals here are not equipped to treat cancer. My mother was suffering right before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do to help her." Like many in Gaza, Gomaa believes that continuing internal divisions are the reason of present Palestinian problems. While Gomaa and his family were mourning, the Palestinian dialogue, which was supposed to begin 25 August, was postponed until after Eid Al-Fitr (the holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan). Postponement of dialogue has become an automatic response to any effort to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Egypt's security delegation has again failed to reconcile the two sides' points of view, its suggestions being regarded by Hamas as a "reproduction" of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's thinking. The Weekly has learned that the Egyptian security delegation suggested in the last meeting with Khaled Meshaal, politburo chief of Hamas, that legislative and presidential elections be held on schedule, without being tied to solving other disputes between Palestinian groups. The Egyptian delegation justified its suggestion by pointing out that it was impossible to solve all Palestinian issues at present. Hamas completely refused to entertain Egypt's suggestion. Two Hamas representatives who met with the Egyptian delegation demanded that political prisoners be released and all other disputed issues addressed. These two representatives demanded that Egypt work with other Arab governments that are sheltering Palestinian refugees in order to organise comprehensive elections for the Palestinian National Council. In exchange, Mahmoud Abbas must prepare to hold legislative and presidential elections in the West Bank by himself, in the event that Haniyeh's government refuses to cooperate in holding elections. These ideas have been circulating parallel to the Sixth Congress of the Fatah movement, which was held recently in Bethlehem. It is not unlikely that Abbas will declare the Gaza Strip to be a breakaway province if the West Bank holds elections alone. This could be followed by sanctions on Gaza, such as the West Bank stopping payments to Israel on water and electricity bills for Gaza. From statements Saleh Bardawil, a prominent Hamas leader, has made about Abbas and his aides, Hamas appears certain that Fatah is not willing to put an end to internal Palestinian division. "There are clear indicators that Fatah is unwilling to come to an agreement -- such as Fatah's insistence on a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the declaration of Fatah and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah that they are holding no political prisoners, and Fatah's focus on some items of the election and not others," Bardawil told the Weekly. Bardawil added: "A series of successive postponements of the dialogue is part of a political game. The goal of the game is to reach 25 January 2010 and hold elections that are imbalanced and for which Palestine is unprepared. The other goal is to gain American support and thereby win the elections, and to remove Hamas from the political circle." On the future of the dialogue after Ramadan: "Either a new round of the dialogue will begin, which would be difficult for Egypt because there has been no progress on any issue, especially in Ramallah. Or Egypt will try to present to the two sides a document that crystallises their shared ideas. This will be more complicated if the document does not address both groups' basic needs," Bardawil said. For his part, Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Political Committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council and a leader of Fatah, said that his party "suggested to the Egyptian security delegation that elections be conducted with full Arab supervision in order to end this state of internal divisions, since nothing else could be agreed upon." Abdullah added, "Fatah's suggestion aims to end the division, for we would benefit greatly. If we don't unite under one political position, then we are the losers." Abdullah is concerned about the continued postponement of dialogue, saying, "We are worried that we will reach an agreement and when we return to the coming round of talks, we will find that Hamas has backed down on the agreement. In that case, there would have been no progress." Abdullah says the goal of the dialogue is to find "a political position that will help us break through this devastating division. Differing visions and policies do not worry us, for we believe in political pluralism, but only when it is encompassed under a united nationalistic position and a common destiny." The Fatah leader attributed Hamas's "stubbornness" to its unwillingness to give up control of Gaza. He added, "Palestine is a phoenix; some may think that she's gone down in flames, but she will rise from amongst the ashes." Abdullah calls for an end to the strife as soon as possible, and a return to mutual respect. The Palestinian writer and researcher Hani Al-Masri believes that Hamas and Fatah have little room left to manoeuvre. According to the Basic Law of the Palestinian Authority, the president is supposed to hold elections before 24 October. Al-Masri believes that Fatah is not keen to join the dialogue with Hamas, and that Hamas sees it as punishment for its decision to prevent Fatah militants in Gaza from participating in the Fatah Sixth Congress. Al-Masri believes the Fatah leadership thinks Hamas has not yet paid the price for the political flexibility that the United States, Europe and the world are starting to show. So the suffocating siege of Gaza will continue, the Rafah border will remain closed, and there will be no reconstruction, and no truce with Israel. Al-Masri thinks that improvement in US- Syrian relations, Iranian domestic unrest, and the results of Lebanese elections are a red light for Hamas. Al-Masri also sees a link between the postponement of Palestinian dialogue and the initiative President Obama will soon announce addressing the Middle East crisis. Will it be a rough outline or a detailed plan with a timeline, and mechanisms and guarantees? Will it be just and balanced, or will it favour Israel? Al-Masri warns: "If [Abbas] does not accomplish anything new, even domestically, or in relation to the dialogue or the negotiations, then everything that he realised will again deteriorate." Al-Masri believes that Fatah and Abbas are in error if they think Hamas is in crisis. But he has a warning for the Islamist resistance movement: "Hamas must realise that the Palestinian political system in general, and the government in particular, must be consistent with international legitimacy. This legitimacy should not frighten Hamas because it embodies the minimum Palestinian and Arab rights. Israel is the one who fears this legitimacy and rejects it. In turn, Fatah should realise that the time of their exclusive decision-making is over and that a government of national partnership in power and organisation is in order. Every deserving party should be involved on the basis of nationalism and democracy and guaranteeing Palestinian unity. All should put their energy, skills, creativity together to oppose occupation and achieve freedom and independence."
