Why is Abbas afraid of going through with the Palestinian reconciliation?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas still expresses a firm position on his rejection of implementing the reconciliation which the Arab and Western world are calling for on the ground. In all actuality, it is he who is hindering the progress of the reconciliation and is increasing the divisions between the West Bank and Gaza.

Five agreements and dozens of meetings were held in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Gaza Strip to end the internal Palestinian crisis, but Abu Mazen still hasn’t found the political legacy he wants to leave to his people after his death or his departure from the political arena. The statements he makes from time to time push the reconciliation process back to the beginning.

Islamic agenda

Many of Abbas’ reasons for fearing the achievement of national reconciliation is because it means the Palestinian political system will be rebuilt on the basis of partnership, which will end his monopoly over authority. This pushes him to cancel his only project, i.e. political settlement.

Political analyst Wesam Afifa believes that Abbas is convinced that Gaza will pose a great burden on him, as it is the resistance’s main location and it cannot be controlled and subjugated. He also notes that Gaza will remain rebellious and revolutionary, which will weaken his control over it.

In this context, Othman Mahmoud Othman, a professor of political science at An-Najah University, states that the Gaza Strip is considered a burden on Abbas for two reasons. First, there are strong supporters of the dismissed Fatah leader, Mohammed Dahlan, which is a source of discomfort for him. Secondly, Gaza is home to the strong resistance that does not accept the security coordination with Israel and this upsets the Fatah leadership, which supports security coordination.

According to political affairs experts, the PA president believes that the reconciliation will give Hamas freedom if its conditions are met and will give it power and strength in the West Bank, and because he does not trust Hamas, he believes that the reconciliation will not be a partnership, but part of the Islamist agenda in the region.

Afifa also believes that Abu Mazen, who came up with the theory of monopolising authority, views the reconciliation in terms of victor and defeated. Therefore, Abbas believes that Hamas must submit to his conditions, especially in light of the regional variables and developments, because he wants a reconciliation based on his terms and vision.

Othman’s beliefs are not very different than Afifa’s, he added in his statement to Al-Resalah net that “Abbas is a helpless man who does not want reconciliation like the other factions because he is subject to what America and Israel want and neither of them will allow for a reconciliation to be implemented on the ground.”

He also said that it is likely that the other factors hindering the implementation of the reconciliation are merely justifications and excuses to hold the other side responsible. According to Othman, the reconciliation means that those in power will surrender to those who are not, and therefore achieving the reconciliation requires that they leave the authority. He believes that if the reconciliation occurs without a change in policy and the hierarchy of the PLO, then it is not a true reconciliation, and will soon be gone.

Arab umbrella

At the regional level, Egypt is still monopolising the reconciliation issue and will not abandon it. This in itself is a problem because the Egyptian government has suspended the issue without taking any action except for pressuring the Gaza Strip and Hamas, which is one of the sides of the reconciliation.

In this context, Afifa says, “the reconciliation is no longer a Palestinian decision; it needs an Arab umbrella that has not been provided yet.”

Meanwhile, political science professor Othman explains that the failure to achieve reconciliation serves the PA’s interests as it allows it to keep its international and Arab relations. The Arabs are not concerned with the existence of people who do not recognise previous agreements because it puts them in an awkward position, noting that the Arab world and the self-interests of the beneficiaries want the situation to remain as it.

Othman attributes Egypt’s monopoly of the reconciliation process to its geographical location, as it is able to pressure Gaza in order to serve the interests of the PA. “Therefore, the Arab governments need to be changed, starting with the spearhead: Egypt,” Othman says.

Despite the shuttle tours between Hamas and Fatah aiming to achieve positive goals in the reconciliation file, the issue remains suspended until further notice.

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