Hamas voiced hope that a direct meeting would be held between its leadership and Fatah’s after the end of the latter’s eighth general conference, which is being held for a second day in Ramallah, Gaza, Cairo, and Beirut.
The conference is due to end on Saturday with the election of new members to Fatah’s Revolutionary Council and Central Committee. On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was re-elected by consensus as the movement’s leader among conference members.
Representatives of several factions, both inside and outside the Palestinian territories, attended the opening session. A Hamas representative was also seen in Gaza.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the identity of Hamas’s new political bureau chief is expected to be settled on Sunday. The race has been narrowed to Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya, who is seen as having the stronger chance of becoming the movement’s overall leader.
Husam Badran, head of Hamas’s National Relations Office and a member of its political bureau, said Fatah’s conference offered an opportunity to shift internal national relations and raise readiness to confront “Israeli plans to eliminate the Palestinian cause once and for all by exploiting international and regional circumstances.”
In a press statement released by Hamas, Badran called on Fatah to hold a direct meeting after its current conference to agree on a Palestinian national strategy on all issues of concern to Palestinians at a sensitive stage for their cause.
“It is time to rise above differences and the consequences of the past, and to look to the present and the future on the basis of national partnership and collective responsibility,” he urged.
He called for action on the ground and politically “in a way that matches the sacrifices of our people, who expect from us clear and direct action that changes their difficult reality in all fields.”
Asharq Al-Awsat learned that Palestinian factions and the Follow-up Committee of National and Islamic Forces in Gaza recently sent messages to Abbas through Fatah leaders, calling on him to convene a comprehensive national dialogue in Cairo.
Two sources from the Palestinian factions said they had not received a response to the messages, adding that the Fatah leaders who conveyed them had indicated that there would be moves on the issue soon after the movement completed its internal arrangements.
The sources said Egypt strongly supports many of the efforts made in this regard. They said Cairo had recently conveyed messages to the Palestinian Authority and Fatah leadership from factions present in the Egyptian capital, including a Hamas delegation that had been there.
They said messages were also conveyed by Türkiye in the same context during a visit by Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh to Ankara, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The sources said Arab and Islamic countries support efforts to reshape the Palestinian national scene.
Fatah has repeatedly refused to attend Cairo meetings with Hamas. Its leaders have, however, met delegations from PLO factions, including the Popular Front and the Democratic Front.
A senior Hamas source told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We hope there will be new moves to end the division and hold a comprehensive national meeting, whether at the level of the secretaries-general or the broader Palestinian leadership, with the aim of setting a roadmap for national aspirations and confronting the challenges facing our cause.”
It remains unclear how Abbas would respond to such a step. Some leading figures in Fatah and the Palestinian Authority believe Hamas is no longer in a position to set conditions for joining any framework unless it commits to international resolutions.
In a speech opening Fatah’s conference on Thursday evening, Abbas said Gaza was an integral part of the State of Palestine.
He said any transitional arrangements must be temporary and must not undermine the unity of Palestinian land, the unity of representation, legitimacy, or the Palestinian political and legal systems.
“Our national unity remains the solid foundation for confronting challenges and ending the division, according to principles we have all agreed on,” Abbas said.
He said these principles are based on recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative, committing to its political program and international obligations, upholding the principle of one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon, and committing to peaceful popular resistance.
“We have called on everyone to commit to these principles, which will open the way to national unity, help strengthen the steadfastness of our people, and achieve their aspirations for freedom and independence, and the embodiment of our independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.
Hamas has often insisted on rejecting international resolutions that include recognition of Israel. This has previously undermined efforts by Arab and international parties to push for its entry into the PLO, or even to bring it closer to Fatah.
Hamas did not comment on Abbas’s speech.
