(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The latest agreement between Fatah and Hamas to translate national reconciliation efforts into facts on the ground is a perfect Ramadan gift for the Palestinian people.
Palestinians and their enduring just cause suffered immensely as a result of the tragic rift between Fatah and Hamas. The rift poisoned the Palestinian public discourse and turned brother against brother, with some Palestinian groups effectively entering into a de facto alliance with the Zionists, the killers of our children and tormentors of our people.
Hence, Palestinians and their friends pray to the Almighty that the latest Cairo agreement will shorten the distance between the two largest political camps on the Palestinian arena and at the same time put all Palestinians on a track of strength, determination and steadfastness vis-à-vis the colonialist power that occupies our homeland and seeks to wipe out our national existence.
The latest agreement stipulates many good things, including the immediate release of hundreds of political prisoners, the reopening of institutions closed as a result of the rift as well as free movement between Gaza and the West Bank. The latter clause, however, is unlikely to be implemented since Israel, not the Palestinians, has the final say in this regard.
But the release of political prisoners, which is supposed to take place before the end of Ramadan, will be a real breakthrough in the erstwhile standoff between the two sides. The political prisoners' issue has always been a bleeding wound generating mutual suspicions and recriminations. Thousands of Palestinian families have suffered due to the often unjust and unjustified incarcerations of their beloved ones, mainly because of ideological orientation or affiliation.
Students were often snatched from their campuses, doctors from their clinics, workers from their jobs, and so on and so forth. Even journalists who prepared the "wrong reports" or interviewed the "wrong person" were arrested and imprisoned.
This gloomy episode of blatant persecution of people just because they happen to hold certain political views exhausted the collective Palestinian psyche, causing many Palestinians to despair of the chances of restoring national unity.
In light, there is a great likelihood that the release of political prisoners (the vast majority of these prisoners are affiliated with Hamas and are detained by the Fatah security agencies in the West Bank ) will be a great confidence-building measure as well as booster for national unity.
Furthermore, the gradual reopening of institutions closed by one side as a reprisal against the other side is also going to be a huge positive development. We are talking about numerous social, charitable, religious and athletic institutions closed or seized entirely on suspicion of having certain connections with either Fatah or Hamas.
Again, it is well known that most and nearly all the closed institutions happened to be affiliated with Hamas' supporters and are located in the West Bank .
There is no doubt that the beneficiaries of all these developments will be the Palestinian people whereas the sole loser will be Israel and her backers.
Therefore, we salute our brothers from Hamas and Fatah who reached this auspicious agreement in this holy month of Ramadan. We also hope and pray that this momentum of good-will will continue to manifest itself in future follow-up reconciliation talks until we reach the moment when the rift and all its scars, ramifications and repercussions will be a thing of the past.
The prospects for implementation of national reconciliation on the ground now seem more promising now than they were a few months ago.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) decision to move against Muhammed Dahlan, the perpetual trouble-maker, will erase a major cause of the collision between Hamas and Fatah.
Dahlan, for those who have forgotten or don't know, connived, collaborated and conspired with the CIA and with Israel to topple the democratically elected government led by Hamas.
He received money and weapons from Gen. Keith Dayton, the American general who was dispatched to the occupied territories on a mission centering on sparking off Palestinian civil war.
Dahlan was responsible for the assassination of many Palestinian leaders, especially in the Gaza Strip. He was also responsible for thwarting the Makkah agreement between Fatah and Hamas in 2007. It is also believed that he stood behind the failed assassination attempt on the life of Prime Minister Ismael Haniya near the Rafah border crossing in the same year.
Hence, neutralizing Dahlan, should be another real booster for cementing true national unity, without allowing Israel and its agents to sow division and discord in our ranks.
Having said that, we can't deny that Dahlan is not a lone destructive figure on the national arena. There are many other Dahlans who thrive and prosper doing Israel's bidding. We must eliminate them one by one in order to be qualified and prepared for a future of independence and freedom.
But we must be honest with ourselves. There is still much to be done in this regard. We must start immediately to minimize security coordination with Israel to the point of ending this shameful chapter in our political life.
In the final analysis, there is no room for security coordination with the killers of our children and tormentors of our people if we are to be truly faithful to national unity. To be bluntly frank, national unity and security coordination with Israel are an eternal oxymoron, they can't coexist in any form.
Hence, we hope that our brothers in Fatah will seriously press in that direction because Israel will never feel comfortable seeing us united and cooperating for the common good of our people and just cause.
Ramadan kareem for all of you.
/129
Palestinians and their enduring just cause suffered immensely as a result of the tragic rift between Fatah and Hamas. The rift poisoned the Palestinian public discourse and turned brother against brother, with some Palestinian groups effectively entering into a de facto alliance with the Zionists, the killers of our children and tormentors of our people.
Hence, Palestinians and their friends pray to the Almighty that the latest Cairo agreement will shorten the distance between the two largest political camps on the Palestinian arena and at the same time put all Palestinians on a track of strength, determination and steadfastness vis-à-vis the colonialist power that occupies our homeland and seeks to wipe out our national existence.
The latest agreement stipulates many good things, including the immediate release of hundreds of political prisoners, the reopening of institutions closed as a result of the rift as well as free movement between Gaza and the West Bank. The latter clause, however, is unlikely to be implemented since Israel, not the Palestinians, has the final say in this regard.
But the release of political prisoners, which is supposed to take place before the end of Ramadan, will be a real breakthrough in the erstwhile standoff between the two sides. The political prisoners' issue has always been a bleeding wound generating mutual suspicions and recriminations. Thousands of Palestinian families have suffered due to the often unjust and unjustified incarcerations of their beloved ones, mainly because of ideological orientation or affiliation.
Students were often snatched from their campuses, doctors from their clinics, workers from their jobs, and so on and so forth. Even journalists who prepared the "wrong reports" or interviewed the "wrong person" were arrested and imprisoned.
This gloomy episode of blatant persecution of people just because they happen to hold certain political views exhausted the collective Palestinian psyche, causing many Palestinians to despair of the chances of restoring national unity.
In light, there is a great likelihood that the release of political prisoners (the vast majority of these prisoners are affiliated with Hamas and are detained by the Fatah security agencies in the West Bank ) will be a great confidence-building measure as well as booster for national unity.
Furthermore, the gradual reopening of institutions closed by one side as a reprisal against the other side is also going to be a huge positive development. We are talking about numerous social, charitable, religious and athletic institutions closed or seized entirely on suspicion of having certain connections with either Fatah or Hamas.
Again, it is well known that most and nearly all the closed institutions happened to be affiliated with Hamas' supporters and are located in the West Bank .
There is no doubt that the beneficiaries of all these developments will be the Palestinian people whereas the sole loser will be Israel and her backers.
Therefore, we salute our brothers from Hamas and Fatah who reached this auspicious agreement in this holy month of Ramadan. We also hope and pray that this momentum of good-will will continue to manifest itself in future follow-up reconciliation talks until we reach the moment when the rift and all its scars, ramifications and repercussions will be a thing of the past.
The prospects for implementation of national reconciliation on the ground now seem more promising now than they were a few months ago.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) decision to move against Muhammed Dahlan, the perpetual trouble-maker, will erase a major cause of the collision between Hamas and Fatah.
Dahlan, for those who have forgotten or don't know, connived, collaborated and conspired with the CIA and with Israel to topple the democratically elected government led by Hamas.
He received money and weapons from Gen. Keith Dayton, the American general who was dispatched to the occupied territories on a mission centering on sparking off Palestinian civil war.
Dahlan was responsible for the assassination of many Palestinian leaders, especially in the Gaza Strip. He was also responsible for thwarting the Makkah agreement between Fatah and Hamas in 2007. It is also believed that he stood behind the failed assassination attempt on the life of Prime Minister Ismael Haniya near the Rafah border crossing in the same year.
Hence, neutralizing Dahlan, should be another real booster for cementing true national unity, without allowing Israel and its agents to sow division and discord in our ranks.
Having said that, we can't deny that Dahlan is not a lone destructive figure on the national arena. There are many other Dahlans who thrive and prosper doing Israel's bidding. We must eliminate them one by one in order to be qualified and prepared for a future of independence and freedom.
But we must be honest with ourselves. There is still much to be done in this regard. We must start immediately to minimize security coordination with Israel to the point of ending this shameful chapter in our political life.
In the final analysis, there is no room for security coordination with the killers of our children and tormentors of our people if we are to be truly faithful to national unity. To be bluntly frank, national unity and security coordination with Israel are an eternal oxymoron, they can't coexist in any form.
Hence, we hope that our brothers in Fatah will seriously press in that direction because Israel will never feel comfortable seeing us united and cooperating for the common good of our people and just cause.
Ramadan kareem for all of you.
/129