Hamas may reject the Doha agreement with Fatah

Khaled Mashaal

A rare public rift broke open Sunday in the usually tightly disciplined Islamic movement Hamas over a reconciliation deal that would require it to relinquish key areas of control in the Gaza Strip. The deal, brokered by Qatar, was signed last week in Doha by Hamas' top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, and the chief of the rival Fatah party, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

President Mahmoud Abbas

The agreement is to end nearly five years of separate governments — Hamas in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank — by establishing an interim unity government headed by Abbas that would prepare for Palestinian elections. Senior Hamas figures in Gaza, who stand to lose most from the deal, said it was unacceptable, while top Hamas loyalists in the West Bank defended the agreement. The argument raised new questions about the ability of Abbas and Mashaal to implement the deal, seen as their best shot yet at healing the rift following Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.

Mahmoud Zahar

Mashaal might be able to put down the unprecedented rebellion against him, but would need the good will and cooperation of Hamas leaders in Gaza to make the agreement work. Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar, one of the masterminds of the Gaza takeover, said Mashaal did not consult with others in the movement before signing the deal. Giving Abbas the post of interim prime minister is"wrong" and "strategically unacceptable," Zahar was quoted as telling the Egyptian news agency MENA on Saturday.

Ismail al- Ashkar

On Sunday, the head of the bloc of Hamas legislators in Gaza, Ismail al- Ashkar, alleged that Fatah has not carried out promised confidence building measures, such as releasing Hamas loyalists held in the West Bank” If the elections are to heal all our chronic, complicated problems, how can we have transparent and fair elections under such conditions," al-Ashkar said. "If this agreement is to work, we need to improve it."

Last week, al-Ashkar's parliament bloc came out against the agreement. In contrast, Hamas lawmakers from the West Bank supported the Doha agreement across the board, according to statements and interviews published on Hamas' official website. Such public debate is rare in the secretive, tightly organized Hamas. The criticism of the Hamas leaders in Gaza highlights the vulnerability of the Doha agreement. 


Abbas needs to satisfy international demands that the interim government— to consist of politically independent technocrats — is not a front for Hamas, shunned as a terror group. If it is seen as too close to Hamas, the Palestinians would likely lose hundreds of millions of dollars in Western aid. At the same time, he risks sabotage from Hamas leaders in Gaza if he tries to strip them of too much of their power.

"If Abbas forms his government with one color, it won't work in Gaza," said Raed Naerat, a West Bank analyst close to Hamas. "The ministers should be acceptable to Hamas officials."

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Hamas and Fatah expected to finalize unity government next Tuesday

PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Khaled Mishal

The two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, will finalize the formation of the historic unity government next Tuesday in Cairo, Fatah said yesterday.

According to the Palestine News Information Agency, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mishal will convene in Cairo on June 21 to conclude negotiations about the new government.

The announcement came as Fatah and Hamas began a new round of negotiations as the two factions failed on reaching a consensus on the election of the next Prime Minister.

Azzam al-Ahmad

"Fatah is determined to end the division and implement the agreements with Hamas on the ground," said Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah delegation. "We hope this will be the last session to form a technocrat government and name the prime minister and members of the new government."

Fatah chose current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to head the new unity government but Hamas objected the proposed candidate after blaming the current prime minister for the Palestinian Authority's debts and the continuing attacks on Hamas supporters in the West Bank.

However, Ahmad said that a consensus was within reach and the two leaders will designate a new Premier next Tuesday. Hamas had earlier proposed Ismail Haniyeh to lead the new unity government. 

Musa Abu Marzouk



Ahmad and the Fatah delegation have met with its Hamas counterpart, led by Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy political bureau chief of the faction which is labeled by Israel as a terrorist organization.

On May 4, Fatah, Hamas and all other Palestinian factions signed a historic unity deal in Cairo. As a result, the Hamas-led government in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank will be dissolved and replaced by a single cabinet of independent technocrats.

At that time, Hamas said that a unified government would be formed within ten days but so far factions have not agreed on a cabinet and elections were delayed. Israel urged the Palestinian Authority to choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas as there "is no possibility for peace with both."

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the U.S. and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in occupied Palestinian territory in September. 

Jewish settlement in Gaza



Israel has resumed settlement constructions even though they were labeled as a violation of international law by the international community. The peace talks are aimed at reaching a two-state solution based on the 1967 Green Line.