Oct 22, 2017

Visiting Ramallah these days, one senses festivity among many over the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation. A well-known Palestinian public opinion pollster told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that, despite Palestinian skepticism, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip both display a groundswell of support for the reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo on Oct. 12. “People are fed up with the political bickering between the two movements on account of the interest of the Palestinian people. Although there is not much love lost between the supporters of the movements, or even between West Bankers and Gazans, most of the public believes that greater unity is in their interest,” he argued.

These public sentiments, the pollster estimates, were the main reason President Mahmoud Abbas went along with the Egyptian terms of the agreement. His standing in public opinion is far from glorious and there is an active discussion in Ramallah of an heir.

A senior PLO official close to Abbas named several reasons behind the reconciliation deal. The first is that the deal would enable both the West Bank and Gaza to be run by one government, subordinated to Abbas with the Palestinian Authority (PA) running the governmental offices in the Gaza Strip. Another element is that the Palestinian security services will be in charge of Gaza Strip passages into Israel and Egypt; this would prove helpful for the flow of goods. And then there is the relationship between Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi; Abbas accords these relations great importance, especially in view of Hamas’ growing dependence on Cairo.

The official added that the implementation and follow-up on the agreement will be gradual and difficult. The two sides will have to learn to work together. Furthermore, the three most important issues — namely the status of the Hamas military wing, the road to achieving Palestinian statehood and presidential and parliamentary elections — have all been left open for further deliberations.

Nevertheless, the official is confident that unlike two previous attempts, this effort will prove successful. He claims that this time the Egyptian intervention is more effective, and that both sides need Cairo.