An alliance between the two factions would facilitate negotiations with the international community
Hamas political leaders have spoken with Palestinian opponents about what the political administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will look like after the end of the war with Israel. According to the North American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”, the negotiations involve Fatah, a faction of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), which also includes the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas.
“We don’t just fight because we want to fight. We are not proponents of a zerosum game,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’ political office in Doha, Qatar, told the publication. “We want the war to end,” he continued. “We want to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem,” he added.
Countries like the United States are putting pressure on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to determine what control of the region will look like after the conflict ends. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country does not want to occupy the Gaza Strip but needs a “reliable force” to operate in the region when necessary and prevent the emergence of new extremist groups.
Options being considered include establishing a multinational peacekeeping force involving Arab nations. However, Hamas and the PA (Palestinian Authority) reject the idea. Another option is to create a revitalized PA with its own security forces.
Hamas and the PLO have a contentious relationship. But as Badran told the Wall Street Journal, there must be a “national dialogue” to define Gaza’s future. “We have always said that the PLO should include every Palestinian faction,” he explained.
According to the publication, the negotiations were led by Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshaal, senior Hamas leaders. On the Fatah side would be Hussein AlSheikh, the PLO's No. 2 and seen as a possible successor to Abbas at the head of the Palestinian Authority.
AlSheikh declined to comment on the matter. Badran told the newspaper that AlSheikh did not meet any Hamas political leaders in Doha.
Although Badran did not confirm the negotiations, he stated that a Palestinian coalition would facilitate negotiations with the international community, particularly European countries reluctant to cooperate with Hamas.
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