Palestinian factions know that when national dialogue sessions reconvene, they have no choice but to reach an agreement, reports Saleh Al-Naami The shops owned by Mohamed Abu Kirsh and Sobhi Khalil in Al-Ramal area of Gaza City are only 50 metres away from the mosque they pray in. Despite this, it takes them 20 minutes to make it back to their shops following the noonday prayer due to their debating the likelihood of success for Palestinian national dialogue. Both optimistic Abu Kirsh and pessimistic Khalil fervently hope that the next dialogue session will close with a final agreement that will put an end to the state of division in Palestinian politics. "If the faction leaders don't succeed in reaching an agreement, they'd better not come back to us, for in my view that would clearly show a lack of responsibility," Abu Kirsh told Al-Ahram Weekly. Khalil holds that all of the points of difference preventing an agreement are marginal in comparison to the threats facing the Palestinian national cause. The likelihood of the dialogue's success is currently the focal point of burning debate on the Palestinian street, where people are keeping their fingers crossed for an agreement. Although a date has not been set for resuming national dialogue sessions, they are expected to reconvene soon. An informed Palestinian source told the Weekly that the impressions of Egyptian General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman during his meetings with American officials were extremely important and would indicate whether the American administration would recognise the new national accord government or not. This source suggested that should Egypt not obtain guarantees that the world would recognise the new government, then Cairo's attempts would be reduced to mere leaps into the air. As the faction leaders prepare to return to Cairo again, they realise that this will be their last chance. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) politburo member Ramzi Ribah says that the faction representatives are expected to reach agreements on three primary points of difference they had been unable to concur on during the dialogue sessions that ended late last week. In a statement to the Weekly, Ribah said that the first point of difference concerned the powers of the national body that would run Palestinian affairs until elections are held for the Palestinian National Council (PNC). Ribah said that Hamas insists that this temporary entity has sole responsibility for making important national decisions related to Palestinian affairs. In contrast, Fatah and some other factions hold that this body's powers should not conflict with those of the agencies of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Ribah says that the second point of difference is related to the electoral system, whereby Hamas wants to continue with the current system that combines proportional and district systems, while Fatah and the other factions want to use only the proportional system. The third point of difference, Ribah says, concerns the programme of the national accord government. Hamas holds that it must be based upon the programme of the national unity government that was formed following the Mecca Agreement, whereby it includes reference to the government "respecting" the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel. Fatah, however, insists that the programme text makes reference to the new government's "commitment" to the signed agreements. Ribah revealed to the Weekly that the DFLP has proposed a formulation for overcoming differences on the political programme by including a text on the government's commitment to the resolutions of the international community and international law. All the parties could live with such a formulation, the reasoning goes, and it could form an alternative to direct reference to the conditions of the International Quartet, Ribah explained. The Palestinian factions do agree on the importance of the national accord government overseeing reconstruction, organising legislative and presidential elections, and unifying Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Ribah says. And, he adds, the challenges facing the Palestinian people -- including reconstruction following the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the rise of the extreme right to power in Israel -- are forcing the parties to take advantage of this opportunity and to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, for time is not on the side of the Palestinian people. Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Independent Palestine list in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), disapproves of the differences between Fatah and Hamas on the government's programme. He says that lifting the siege on the Palestinian people is not solely dependent upon the political programme of the national accord government that will be formed when national dialogue comes to a successful close. In a statement to the Weekly, Barghouti said that reaching an agreement on the government's programme could not form an alternative to Palestinians resisting the siege. He warns that no formulation the Palestinians might agree upon for the new government's programme would be able to convince the parties imposing the siege to lift it. "We must come out to the world unified, and cry in a loud and clear voice, 'You cannot go on classifying us as moderates and extremists, and you can't go on pardoning Israel from the burdens it must shoulder as an occupying power!'" he said. Barghouti believes that the programme of the national unity government that was formed following the Mecca Agreement in February 2007 would be suitable for the new government with a few minor adjustments. He says that the unity government's programme clearly addresses recognition of the resolutions of the international community, international law, and international humanitarian law, and stresses that these aspects of the programme must be brought to the fore. Barghouti says that although the outstanding points of difference at the last national dialogue session held in Cairo involved primary issues that the dialogue must resolve in order to come to a successful close, the distance between the positions of Fatah and Hamas is not so great and that the gap can be bridged if there is a sincere will to do so. He adds that the atmosphere of the recent round of dialogue sessions was positive, and he's hopeful that the next session, expected to be convened at the end of this week, will succeed in reaching a final agreement on all points of difference. Yet Barghouti also warns against giving in to Israeli and American pressure, and says that Tel Aviv considers a successful outcome to the dialogue and an end to the Palestinian domestic rift counter to Israel's interests. Israel wants the division between Palestinians to remain in place, he says. Yet the likelihood of the dialogue succeeding is not all that concerns Palestinians these days. They still hope that an agreement can be reached on a prisoner swap deal with Israel that would put an end to the suffering of hundreds of Palestinians detained in occupation prisons. Although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that he is not prepared to agree to Hamas's demand that 450 prisoners with long sentences be released in return for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, intense efforts are currently being made to close this file within two weeks -- meaning before Olmert's term ends. Palestinian and Israeli sources have confirmed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy intends to propose an initiative to solve the differences between Hamas and Israel on the deal. Hamas political figure Osama Al-Mazini has welcomed France's intervention and confirmed that the door to resuming negotiations remains open. "Negotiations on reaching an agreement have not failed, but rather the first stage of these negotiations failed," he has said. "Now the ball is in the Israeli court. The positions of Hamas are clear and its goals have been consistent, for Hamas has not changed its demands over the last 1,000 days." Al-Waid, a Palestinian human rights organisation concerned with Palestinian detainees in occupation prisons, has confirmed that the Israeli prison authority has placed a number of mentally unbalanced Israelis in solitary confinement with Hamas detainees. In a recent statement, Al-Waid wrote that this measure came in response to failure to reach an agreement on a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. It further noted that this was only one of dozens of punitive measures the Israeli government decided to take against Hamas detainees, and considers this an attempt to "break the prisoners and consequently influence the prisoner exchange agreement". Yet Al-Waid says that there is no real concern for the morale of the prisoners as they have "shown extreme patience and perseverance". It warns, however, that clashes within the prisons could lead to the killing of detainees. The organisation calls on the media to consistently follow these crimes and to reveal Israeli measures that violate international conventions that guarantee prisoner rights.
