Abbas missed a historic opportunity to break the Gaza siege and end factional division

Qatar University’s professor of political science, Dr Mohammed Al-Mesfer, has stated that the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s visit to the Gaza Strip represents a turning point in Arab politics and a shift from mere talk to taking real steps to break the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. He also expressed hope that it would be a starting point for visits from other Arab leaders, thus putting an end to the international blockade on Strip.

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Al-Mesfer explained that the visit, which began today, Tuesday October 23, placed Arab officials before their historical responsibilities to break the siege, saying: “This is a bold step that will hopefully be followed by other steps taken by other Arab leaders. I hope that Egypt revokes the agreements signed between itself, the Palestinian Authority and Israel on crossings so as to lift the siege on Gaza in full.”

Al-Mesfer went on to criticise Abbas’s absence from the Emir’s reception in Gaza, saying: “Mahmoud Abbas no longer represents the Palestinian people. Instead, he represents the trend that gravitates in the US-Israeli orbit, against the Palestinian people. If he truly wanted to knock on the door of Palestinian reconciliation and contribute to ending the siege, he would be the first to receive the Emir of Qatar in Gaza. However, he doesn’t make his own decisions. In any case, whether present or absent, there is no value in either.”