Palestinians forge new national council
PALESTINIAN factions forged a historic agreement in Moscow on Tuesday to form a government of national unity. After three days of intense negotiations in Moscow, key Palestinian factions which included Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed to unite.
The organisations will form a new National Council, which will include Palestinians in exile and hold elections. This is the first time in years that the movements have put aside their differences and moved towards a common Palestinian vision.
“It is significant that Islamic Jihad is part of the process as they could have been serious spoilers,” Mohamed Dangor, adviser on the Middle East to the South African government, told Independent Media.
“The agreement can be seen as a reaction to Trumpism and the world moving to the right, especially France and Germany. This is an important development as it builds on the work done in South Africa last year.”
The Palestinian factions agreed that over the next two months new members would be elected to the national council and the sides would form a new government.
An international peace conference held in Paris on Sunday, a recent UN Security Council resolution criticising Israeli settlements, and Trump’s inauguration are seen as catalysts behind the agreement.
The role of Russia in brokering the agreement is significant given its interest in playing a major role in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It is also significant that the agreement was reached on the eve of the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
“Russia is well-placed to play a role in the Middle East peace process,” said Palestinian ambassador to South Africa Hashem Aldajani.
“Russia has always supported Palestinian rights and a two state solution.” Historically, peace negotiations have been dominated by the US, but the intervention of Russia signals a move away from a US-dominated peace process.
The factions met last week in Beirut to discuss and prepare for elections.
According to Aldajani, the unity government will include most of the main Palestinian factions.
The numerous strategic meetings of Palestinian factions held in South Africa last year has undoubtedly contributed to laying the basis for unity, as it brought the various factions together over week-long meetings at which they discussed their differences.
The South African non-governmental organisation In Transformation Initiative (ITI) hosted these meetings in Cape Town, and was positive about the progress the factions had made in coming together.
“We would like to believe South Africa contributed to this emerging Palestinian unity even if in a modest way,” said Mohammed Bhabha, one of the directors of ITI.