On anniversary of reconciliation deal, unity remains elusive
Published today (updated) 04/05/2012 16:09
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482272

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- One year on from the reconciliation deal between Hamas
and Fatah, Ma'an asked party leaders why national unity still eludes
Palestinian politics.

On May 4, 2011, President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas chief Khalid
Maashal pledged in Cairo to form a government to prepare for elections
within one year, but the parties continue to lead separate governments in
the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking from Cairo, Hamas leader Ahmad Youssef said the accord faced
obstacles "beyond the two parties' will."

Both parties tried to impose their position on the other, Youssef said, but
Israel, the international community and "discouraging" statements from Fatah
were also to blame for the ongoing division.

Egypt, which sponsored the reconciliation deal, continues to push for its
implementation, and Abbas and Mashaal will meet again in Cairo after Hamas'
internal elections, he said.

Since the deal, Fatah has operated freely in the Gaza Strip and relations
have improved, the Hamas official said.

Faisal Abu Shahla, a Fatah parliament member in Gaza, told Ma'an that
despite many meetings since the reconciliation deal, there has been no real
progress on the ground.

The Hamas government continues to arrest Fatah members in Gaza, he said.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Kayed al-Ghoul agreed
that there had been no real progress toward unity.

"It seems there are private interests that are still controlling the
reconciliation path," al-Ghoul told Ma'an.

Popular Struggle Front leader Mahmud Zak, who is on hunger strike in a
protest tent in Gaza City in solidarity with prisoners, said national
division frustrated all Palestinians.

Meanwhile, politburo member of the leftist Palestine People's Party Walid
al-Awad said no aspect of the reconciliation deal had been implemented.

Unity demands action rather than more agreements, al-Awad added. He called
on Hamas to allow the elections committee to resume work updating the voter
registrar in Gaza.

Abdul Aziz Qudaih, a spokesman for the social reconciliation committee, said
the elections committee needed Hamas' approval to prepare for a vote in
Gaza.

"Afterward, the ballot box decides who has responsibility," Qudeih said.

Forming a unity government is crucial in providing an environment for
reconciliation, he added.

Political analyst Akram Attallah said reconciliation had stalled because
some Fatah and Hamas members did not want national unity.

Palestinian leaders do not recognize the importance of reconciliation and of
reforming the political system, and Egypt and Qatar have lessened pressure
on the parties, Attallah said.