Report: Egypt's pivotal role in uniting Palestinians

CAIRO – 26 April 2018: Egypt has been backing the Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas for a long time. Throughout the last five months, Egypt has succeeded in bridging between both key parties ahead an anticipated move to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem mid-May.

The reconciliation efforts under Egypt’s auspices officially began in October, when Egypt succeeded to hold a historic meeting between leaders of Fatah and Hamas, turning over the ten-year-old dispute for the sake of a new era of consensus, as the two parties reactivated the Cairo Agreement signed in 2011.

Removing the disagreements and finding common ground has always been Egypt's goal so that it can keep the negotiations available. Egyptian leaders have reiterated on various occasions that the unity between Fatah, Hamas and other Palestinian factions is a must for serious negotiations with Israel over an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders whose capital city is East Jerusalem.

For their part, the Palestinian factions have insisted on giving Egypt the leading role in running the mediation between them. They believe Egypt has no hidden ambitions, unlike other regional powers that seek benefits from the Palestinian territory.

Cairo has played a key role in the reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas. In October 2017, a reconciliation agreement was signed in Cairo between both parties. A high-profile Egyptian delegation has been visiting Gaza frequently during the past period to meet with all parties in order to ease any tensions that may prevent the reconciliation agreement from being fully-implemented.

On February 25, the delegation started one of its longest visits, which lasted until March 8. During the visit, the delegation met with several Palestinian leaders from all parties and factions.

The list of separate meetings included meetings with Palestinian Minister of Transportation Sameh Tubeila, Palestinian Minister of Culture Ihab Bseiso, head of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh, a number of tribal heads in Gaza, and several members of the Palestinian unity government, according to Palestinian media outlets.

Earlier, on Dec. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Backing Trump’s move, Guatemala, Honduras and Romania also announced their willingness to move their embassies to Jerusalem.

On April 3, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received Egyptian Intelligence Service Chief Abbas Kamel and his accompanying delegation at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah.

The Egyptian delegation was on mission to deliver an important message from President Sisi to his Palestinian counterpart. For his part, Abbas stressed the depth of relations between the Egyptian and Palestinian leadership and people, and the Palestinian leadership's keenness to boost relations in the framework of the mutual interest of the two brotherly peoples.

During the meeting, they discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and the Egyptian efforts exerted to achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

On September 17, 2017, Hamas announced the dissolution of its administrative committee in the Gaza Strip, inviting the Government of National Reconciliation to assume its duties and hold general elections. The movement affirmed it would comply with the Social Reconciliation Accord signed in 2011.

President Abbas said in statements to media outlets that there is no country as vital to the Palestinian cause as Egypt due to its historical and political position in the region. “Egypt has an opinion, a position and an interest in the Palestinian cause,” said Abbas.