Reconciliation Process
When 2018 came to a close the reconciliation process continued to be at a standstill. As reported last quarter, Egypt had sought to mediate in the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation process and between Hamas and Israel but the Fatah leadership rejected the proposals coming out of Cairo. The Fatah leadership continued throughout the end of the year to reject any Egyptian-facilitated mediation because it saw the Hamas-Israel track as an obstacle to Palestinian unity and counterproductive to the reconciliation process. Hamas on the other hand cited the sanctions by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the party and its members as the reason for its engagement with Israel through the Egyptian intermediary. A number of reports alleged that Fatah was engaging in the Egyptian-led talks and that interim agreements had been reached. All of these reports were denied by Fatah officials.
To alleviate the economic situation in Gaza, which first and foremost is caused by the Israeli blockade but also is contributed to by the PA sanctions of Hamas, the Qatari government sought to send aid in form of fuel and cash to Gaza which in the first instance was blocked by the PA (10/4). Despite the PA blocking the Qatari-funded gas for Gaza’s power plant, a number of shipments of fuel reached Gaza, the first on 9 October. Qatar later (10/11) stated that it would be sending an additional $150 million in financial aid to pay for civil servants’ salaries to Gaza, the first of such cash shipments arrived on 8 November. In addition to the fuel and cash it was made public (12/10) that Qatar had proposed building an airport in Gaza to Hamas and Israel. By the end of 2018 it remained unclear whether plans for the proposed airport had moved forward. According to Mohammad al-Emadi, the Qatari ambassador to the Palestine and head of Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee, the plan would include that planes taking off from Gaza would land in Doha for a layover before taking off for the rest of the world, presumably enhancing Gazans mobility by circumventing Israel’s continued blockade of Gaza. The airport project and the shipments of fuel and cash received criticism from a number of Fatah officials, some suggesting that the Qatari aid would create greater division between Gaza and the West Bank thus following what they perceive as the U.S. peace plan. Gaza’s only airport was built in 1998 but it has been out of operation since 2001 when it was destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
As PA president Mahmoud Abbas had embarked to New York to speak in front of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Hamas arrested (9/24) dozens of Fatah members in Gaza for voicing their support for Abbas. In response, the PA arrested Hamas members in the West Bank. Most detainees in Gaza and the West Bank were released within a week. The pattern of arresting political opposition was documented in a Human Rights Watch report “Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent” released on 23 October. Hamas and Fatah officials also sought to delegitimize one another as President Abbas was in New York, further illustrating the rift between the 2 parties. The Hamas Legislative Council’s deputy chairman Ahmad Bahar called President Abbas an illegitimate president and said that he does not represent the Palestinian people. Fatah officials criticized Hamas for their attacks on President Abbas and accused Hamas of buying into the Israeli and American strategy of dividing the Palestinian people. At the UNGA speech (9/27), President Abbas called out Hamas for not fulfilling their obligations in agreements with the PA.
In a rare moment of Hamas-Fatah solidarity President Abbas defended Hamas as the UNGA voted (12/7) on a resolution to condemn Hamas, the resolution did not pass (see United Nations). Fatah Advisory Council member Serhan Dweikat later said that “after all, the PA and Fatah consider Hamas an important Palestinian liberation movement, regardless of their disagreements.” Hamas applauded PA ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Riyad Mansour for his efforts at pressuring the UN members to vote the resolution down.
Just before the year ended the Hamas-Fatah relations took a hit when President Abbas announced (12/22) that he was dissolving the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and that new elections would be held within 6 months. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member Ahmad Majdalani told Palestine TV since the PLC, which was part of the 1993 Oslo process, was dissolved the Palestinians had 2 choices in their path towards statehood, either creating a parliament for the state of Palestine or a preliminary assembly. He further stated that both were being discussed. Hamas issued a statement on the same day which called the decision invalid “because it was issued by an illegal body.” Hamas further called on Egypt for support on the matter. President Abbas’ announcement came at a PLO meeting in Ramallah where he also accused Hamas of blocking the Egyptian efforts to mediate a reconciliation. At a speech 6 days prior (12/16) celebrating the 31st anniversary of Hamas, the head Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh had invited President Abbas to talk unity. On 26 December following President Abbas’ announcement it was reported that the PA barred the speaker of the PLC and other members of Hamas from entering the PLC building to give a speech condemning the decision. On New Year’s Day Fatah accused Hamas of detaining 500 of its members organizing events to celebrate Fatah’s 54th anniversary in Gaza. Hamas said it only had detained 38 Fatah members.
Hamas-Israel Cease-fire
As Israel’s deadly response to the Great March of Return continued so did the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel, without Fatah consent (see above). On 28 August Hamas released a statement confirming a “national consensus” in favor of a long-term cease-fire agreement with Israel, despite President Abbas’ disapproval of the separate Hamas-Israel negotiations. However, after the Hamas-Israel talks had been stalled for weeks reports came out (9/19) that Hamas was working on escalating the Great March of Return protest to put pressure on Israel and Egypt to complete a long-term cease-fire. Different reports on what a long-term cease-fire would entail were released. As early as 23 September it was reported that the PA would take control of Gaza and that there would be limitations on Hamas’ military wing. A draft of a Hamas-Israel cease-fire agreement was published in the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar on 3 November and alleged that it included Egypt agreeing to opening the Rafah border crossing permanently, Israel expanding the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast to 14 nautical miles, and permitting 5,000 Gazans to enter Israel for work, in addition to allowing Qatar to pay 80 percent of civil servants salaries in Gaza. As Israel’s attacks on Gaza grew more intense in October (see above) the Hamas-Israel talks continued and in Cairo Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire on 26 October based on Hamas curbing the launch of all incendiary balloons and kites sent as part of the border protest in exchange for Israel lifting its siege on Gaza. The following day a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad in Palestine (PIJ) said that PIJ had agreed to “a comprehensive cease-fire” beginning immediately. However, on 11 November an Israeli undercover mission led to the killing of several Gazans (see above). After the Israeli attack on Hamas on 11 November there were reports that Israel had stopped working with Egyptian mediators to de-escalate the violence. On 13 November after 3 days of heavy bombardment of Gaza, Egyptian, UN, and Norwegian mediators facilitated a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel following the agreement made between the 2 parties in 2014. Despite the cease-fire Israel continued its killing of protesters of the Great March of Return and bombing targets in Gaza (see above).
Palestinian Authority
As the U.S. announced it was cutting all aid to the Palestinians (see United States), including $20 million in aid to the Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem, the PA stated (9/10) that it would cover the deficit in the budget for the hospitals in East Jerusalem. PA prime minister Rami Hamdallah said in an announcement that Palestine “will not trade our national rights for political money.”
In his speech to the UNGA (9/27) President Abbas called on the U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration to reverse its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, to reinstate aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and to oppose Israel’s continued settlement enterprise. He further stated that “Jerusalem is not for sale and the Palestinian people’s rights are not up for bargaining” in a response to President Trumps ‘Deal of the Century.’ Later in October (10/16) Palestine won a vote at the UNGA to become the next head of the Group of 77 and China. Only 3 countries voted against, the U.S., Israel, and Australia. Heading the Group of 77 and China will allow Palestine to make statements, submit and co-sponsor proposals and amendments, and be able to reply and raise points of order. Palestine will chair the Group of 77 and China from the beginning of 2019. Then in late December (12/26) Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki announced that Palestine would start the application to gain full membership at the UN. It is unlikely that the application will pass since it would have to go through the UN Security Council where the U.S. has the power to veto the application. The application to become a full member of the UN comes after President Abbas in November (11/15) signed accession papers for 11 international organizations and conventions including the Universal Postal Union, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage Resulting from Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Vienna Convention of Road Traffic, the Protocol concerning countries or territories at present occupied, the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, the Agreement Establishing the Common Fund for Commodities, and the International Convention on Arrest of Ships. The PA move is aligned with its push to become internationally recognized as a state. The U.S. has tried to halt Palestinian ascension to international bodies in addition to recent punitive moves against the Palestinian people (see United States).
An import-export war unfolded in the month of December between the PA and Israel. On 2 December the PA deputy minister of agriculture Abdallah Lahlouh announced that had stopped allowing Israeli sheep into PA controlled areas of the West Bank. In his announcement he cited the low prices of the Israeli sheep and that the PA was protecting Palestinian farmers. In response Israel’s agricultural minister Uri Ariel ordered (12/17) an indefinite freeze on imports of Palestinian agricultural products to Israel. The decision was done without consultation with other Israeli government bodies and could be overturned by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The following week the PA decided (12/27) to respond with a ban on importing all Israeli vegetables, fruits, and poultry to the Palestinian markets. The import-export war was resolved by the end (12/30) of the year after PA agricultural minister Sufian Sultan told the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development agricultural ministry that it would start allowing Israeli produce, including sheep, into the Palestinian markets leading the Israeli minister to reverse Israel’s ban as well.
On 17 December the civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh said that the PA had informed Israel that it was reconsidering all agreements between the 2 parties. Al-Sheikh further explained that the move was directly linked to the Israeli escalation of violence in the West Bank in the weeks prior (see above). The announcement comes after the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) came to a similar decision in October (see below).
A Palestinian man from East Jerusalem was sentenced to life in prison after he tried to sell his house in the Old City to Israeli settlers. The Palestinian man, who is also a U.S. citizen, was arrested in October and is said to have confessed to the charges. He was sentenced on 31 December. It is the first time that the PA has applied its law prohibiting sales of property to foreign entities in East Jerusalem, other cases have been brought to court for sales in the West Bank. After the man was arrested by the PA, Israeli forces raided (11/4) the PA offices in the West Bank seizing files and computers. During the raid 4 employees were injured, including the PA minister for Jerusalem affairs Adnan Husseini.
Hamas
In Gaza 6 people were sentenced (12/3) to death for collaborating with Israel. The 6 people were suspected of having played a role in the Israeli operation that cost the life of 7 Palestinians and 1 Israeli soldier (see above). According to B’Tselem 13 people were sentenced to death in 2018, while no executions were carried out this year.
Former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak claimed during his testimony (12/26) in Egyptian court that 800 members of Hamas had crossed the border to Egypt and helped free prisoners as part of the January 25 Revolution in 2011. A statement released by Hamas on 29 December read “We categorically deny Mubarak’s testimony about sending 800 gunmen to Cairo to free Egyptian, Palestinian and Arab prisoners.”
Palestine Liberation Organization
In a 2-day meeting session (10/28–29) of the PCC its members voted to suspend its recognition of Israel until Israel recognize a Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. The decision was made with President Abbas’ consent and also included calls for an end to the PA’s security coordination with Israel and to suspend economic agreements including the Paris Protocols. PLO secretary-general Saeb Erakat stated the day of the last meeting that the PCC’s decisions would be implemented gradually. The PA later made a similar announcement in December (see above).
Palestinian Opinion
On 1 October Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank observed a general strike to voice opposition to the Nation-State Law which passed in the Knesset on 19 July 2018. The law codified Israel’s status as the nation-state for the Jewish people (see JPS 48 [1]). Protest against the Nation-State Law continued for a second day near Ramallah on 2 October.