News Analysis: New deal among Palestinian factions faces same old challenges

A deal declared Tuesday by Palestinian leaders on forming a unity government to end 10 years of internal division is very hard to implement, analysts and observers say.

The declaration, by leaders of Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, was announced in Moscow after two days of intensive dialogue held in the Russian capital.

Azzam el-Ahmad, a senior Fatah leader, and Musa Abu Marzooq, a senior Hamas leader, made the announcement in a news conference held in Moscow together with leaders of other factions.

Russia supervised the internal reconciliation dialogue among the rival Palestinian factions.

Abu Marzooq, a deputy Hamas chief, told the news conference that the new unity government "will be the joint mechanism that will treat and resolve all questions... that came out from the internal split and will implement the deals reached in the past 10 years."

According to the agreement, after the formation of the Palestinian unity government, the presidential and parliamentary elections should be held.

The last presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2005 and 2006.

The internal Palestinian division started when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, all attempts by Palestinian, Arab and international mediators had failed to reach a real reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

Rajab Abu Serreya, a West Bank political analyst, told Xinhua that Russia's involvement in the internal Palestinian dialogue was aimed at sending a message to the world that Russia can play an important role in the Middle East.

"Hosting the dialogue in Moscow was aimed at fulfilling the vacuum that had been left after the U.S. involvement in the Middle East conflict had retreated."

Before the dialogue in Moscow, representatives of the Palestinian factions held a series of dialogue sessions in Lebanon to prepare for convening the Palestinian parliament in exile, better known as the Palestinian National Council.

Ibrahim Abrash, a political science professor at al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Xinhua that Moscow agreement between the Palestinian factions "is not different from a series of agreements and understandings which had been so far reached in the past 10 years."

"There had been a series of agreements that were signed and sponsored by different countries, but they were never implemented," Abrash said. "The implementation of the agreements has been always a major challenge."

Abrash said Russia's ability to help the rivals implement an agreement is limited, "because Moscow is not aware of the intentions of the two rivals of Fatah and Hamas, and also not aware of the relationships between the two rivals on one hand, and relations between Israel and Egypt on the other."

Meanwhile, some believe that even if a new unity government is formed, it will face the same obstacles the current consensus government has been facing.

In Gaza, prominent social media activists mocked the agreement, saying it's hard to see any substantial progress in implementing the deal.

Khaled Joma'a, a Palestinian writer, think-tank member and journalist, wrote on his Facebook page, "To those who reached the agreement, I say: aren't you ashamed that it took you 10 years making reconciliation and you accomplished nothing."

"Israel detains 30 Palestinians every day, confiscates our lands, kills our young men, demolishes our homes, uproots our trees and you still debate reconciliation," said Joma'a. "We get sick of you and your reconciliation."

Ra'ed Musa, a Facebook activist, wrote on his page: "They announced in Moscow that they will start their consultations on forming a unity government within 48 hours, but they didn't tell us when exactly they will finish it."

In April 2014, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement in Gaza and a consensus government was formed two months later. But the government failed to operate normally due to differences between Hamas and Fatah.

Just last week, the two rivals were trading accusations over the responsibility for a severe electricity crisis gripping the Gaza Strip. Endit