Palestinians Seek Unity against Common Enemy

The Abraham Accords, signed last week by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, continue to drive the Jewish state’s nearest adversaries – normally bitter foes themselves – into each other’s arms. Delegations from the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, which control the West Bank and Gaza Strip, respectively, met Tuesday in the Turkish capital Ankara to discuss the cessation of hostilities and divisions within the Palestinian cause, and perhaps even a possible agreement on national elections. Earlier this month, representatives from a wider array of Palestinian groups held a historic meeting via video conference in which they agreed to work toward national unity in order to combat US President Donald Trump’s policies in the region. The Palestinian leadership split in 2007 after Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip, executing or exiling Fatah leaders. Since then, several summits have failed to achieve reconciliation. Also on Tuesday, the Palestinian representative to the Arab League, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, turned down the chairmanship of the upcoming session to protest the forum’s actions. Earlier this month, the Arab League refused to condemn the UAE and Bahrain for normalizing ties with Israel despite Palestinian demands.