Palestinian Reconciliation

The recent negotiations between Fateh and Hamas have ended their disagreements and hostilities toward each other, which have been going on for the last five years.

The Egyptian government has played a major role as a mediator between both groups who are supposed to meet in Cairo in a few days to sign the agreement. This will lead to the formation of a unity transitional government. After that, the leadership of both groups will set a time for the election of a new president and members of parliament within one year at the most.

The reaction to this surprising and unexpected agreement by the Israeli and U.S. governments was negative.

The Israeli Prime Minister B. Netanyahu stated publicly “the Palestinian Authority should decide and choose to have peace with Israel or with Hamas”. While the U.S government reaction to the Fateh and Hamas reconciliation was without enthusiasm, the White House made some remarks that more information is needed about the details of the agreement, since Hamas is classified as a “terrorist organization”. (almasry-alyoum.com, 4/29/2011).

The reaction of the White House didn’t come as a surprise, since President Obama has been humiliated and snubbed by the Israeli Prime minister, who rejected President Obama’s effort’s to mediate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to achieve peace in the region. Mr. Obama’s promises to the Arab and Islamic world, which he made at the University of Cairo, have been nothing but hot air. As long as Israel continues to control the American Congress, the president of the U.S. will not be able to play a constructive role, regardless of what is its impact on the national interest of the U.S.

President Obama’s priority is to win another term in 2012 and without the support of AIPAC and other Jewish American organizations, it will be a difficult task for him. ON the other side, the turn of events in the Arab world has already begun to change the political balance in the region. Puppet regimes like that of the deposed Egyptian ex-president Hosni Mubarak used to implement the American-Israeli agenda without question. The reaction on the streets of Arab countries to both the U.S. and Israel has been very negative and the Arab world’s foreign policy should not be taken for granted anymore.

Furthermore, I hope that the Palestinian leadership has learned a lesson. It seems to me that the fight for Palestinian leadership since the mid-1930s has taken priority over saving Palestine from the Zionist state.