Palestinian reconciliation is in danger

I was optimistic when it was announced by Fatah and Hamas that there would be a unity government, and that it would formed via consensus on the technocrats who would fill the roles. It was pleasing to hear Hamas’s official position that it favoured national unity over division and that it was willing to make numerous concessions. I was so enthusiastic that I began to cheer, “Long live Palestine”.

Then we all waited anxiously for the follow-up to this reconciliation, which should have started with Mahmoud Abbas’s immediate arrival in Gaza. This step would have been the perfect gesture for Abbas to prove to the people of Palestine, and Gaza in particular, that he was serious about this new development.

The ink on the reconciliation agreement was not even dry before international and Arab news agencies began to report that complaints and protests were taking place in front of Gaza’s banks. The previous government in Ramallah (led by Fatah) used to distribute government employees’ salaries despite the fact that Fatah members boycotted their jobs during the period of the split. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, security and municipal workers, etc., were told by Fatah not to work but Abbas ordered the government in the Gaza Strip to pay their salaries in any case. It was the responsibility of Ismail Haniyeh’s Hamas government in Gaza to ensure that this took place but it did not happen. When Fatah refused to recognise the 2006 election results it became Haniyeh’s responsibility to establish a new government sector, and this is precisely what he did. Thus, we were all surprised to find that less than ten days after the signing of the reconciliation agreement, Fatah dispensed the salaries of the national authority’s workers in the Gaza Strip but failed to pay those affiliated with Hamas. As a result of this, banks in Gaza decided to close their doors in an effort to prevent any more clashes from taking place between those who could withdraw their pay cheques and those who couldn’t.

It is accepted in political science that if two countries unite it becomes the responsibility of the new government to take over and address all the circumstances and conditions affecting that country both at home and abroad. It must implement any agreements or conventions and pay any debts that were in effect before the union, and so on. What happened in Gaza was not the unification of two separate countries but the reconciliation of two different political ideologies within the same nation. Politicians who were once in disagreement have overcome their differences, apparently, and, as such, the new unity government should work towards improving the quality of life in Gaza and paying its workers without hesitation.

The primary responsibility of this new government is to unify all governmental institutions and not to promote division and estrangement. Anyone who is involved or concerned with this matter and cares about the fate of Palestinian reconciliation must understand that the new Palestinian unity government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Rami Hamadallah, constitutes a new government encompassing the roles of both Fatah and Hamas. The new government is not a continuation of the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah. It was established to benefit all of the people and was formed to ensure security and stability for every Palestinian, with no distinction between residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It pains me to say, though, that the security spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, General Adnan Al-Dameeri, was not successful in his press conference on Gaza and the events that took place the other day. His choice of words resembled that of an Israeli, with references to “thugs and gangs from Hamas [who] prevented employees from receiving their salaries”.

These words demonise the people, and I wonder why he do not say the truth. Why didn’t he criticise Hamadallah’s unity government for choosing to make a distinction between employees in Gaza? The unity government has opted to rerun the division. It is not the place of any Palestinian, no matter what his rank, to insult or demean the people, especially by categorising those who are armed with weapons to defend their country as “thugs”. His words were criminal and he should be brought to account for them. He should either say good things or keep quiet.

A thank you is due to Qatar both on the popular level and in terms of leadership for what it is doing for the Palestinian people economically and politically. When Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani heard of the crisis affecting Palestinian employees in the Gaza Strip, he called the leadership of the unity government immediately and expressed his desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible to avoid going back to a state of national division.

Where are the other Arabs, especially in the Gulf, who are able to help the new unity government? Why can’t the rich Arabs who have been blessed by God with wealth help the Palestinians to see a way out of this financial crisis, just as wealthy Jews around the world support Israel?

Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority to eliminate corruption and remove corrupt individuals for the benefit of both the homeland and its citizens. Without this, the reconciliation is in danger.

Translated from Al Araby Al Jadeed 8 June 2014

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.