After more than a decade of internal divisions, the Palestinian enemy brothers of Fatah (secular) and Hamas (Islamist) pledged, Thursday, July 2, to"Unity" against the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. In a rare joint press conference, Fatah and Hamas, respectively in power in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, said they wanted to open " a new page ".
"We will put in place all the mechanisms to ensure national unity" against the Israeli project, said Fatah secretary general Jibril Rajoub, saying he wanted to speak out"One voice". Saleh Al-Arouri, a Hamas executive speaking at a Beirut videoconference, said: "The leadership of Hamas is for the national consensus", adding:
"This joint press conference is an opportunity to embark on a new stage in the service of our people at these perilous moments. "
The last known meeting between Hamas and Fatah dates back to January 2020. The two parties have been at loggerheads since 2007, the year in which Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, a year after winning the legislative elections and at the end of a near civil war. Since then, all efforts at reconciliation have failed.
"A major step towards achieving unity"
But Israel's plan to annex its settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank – Palestinian territory that the Hebrew state has occupied since 1967 – seems to be moving the lines.
"Our Palestinian people have witnessed today a major step towards unity", said Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in a statement. "We in the leadership of Hamas support this approach, which reflects a sense of national responsibility. "
The annexation to the West Bank is provided for in the US plan for the Middle East, which was rejected as a whole by the Palestinians when it was presented in late January. The text also provides for the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state on a limited territory with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, some 50 km apart, linked by a corridor.
Hamas had called on the Palestinian people in mid-June "To turn this ordeal into an opportunity to get the Palestinian project back on track". "There is no room for monopoly, exclusion or dominance in the Palestinian leadership", said a senior movement official.
"Historic opportunity"
On the Israeli side, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is increasing consultations with American officials and the security gotha on his annexation project, which he described as ""Historic opportunity" the plan of his close ally, US President Donald Trump. According to the union government agreement signed this spring, Israel has in principle been able to rule on Wednesday on the implementation of the plan.
This week, Netanyahu met in Jerusalem Avi Berkowitz, Trump's special adviser, and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. he "Continue its discussions with the Americans", but also with senior military and intelligence officials, according to his services.
The question that now occupies many observers is whether the Prime Minister will opt for a maximalist approach with the attachment of the Jordan Valley and a hundred settlements to Israel, or a minimalist approach by targeting a handful of settlements.
He could also postpone his project, knowing that his "Window" firing is only a few months old. Because a victory in November in the American presidential election of the democrat Joe Biden, hostile to the annexation, could destroy the American support for this plan.
