Speaking to the American news outlet, Meshaal declared "We, along with other Palestinian factions in consensus, agreed upon accepting a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines…this is the national program. This is our program. This is a position we stand by and respect."
The announcement comes in the wake of an Israeli announcement to partially freeze settlements in the hopes of returning to the negotiating table. The move by Israel was widely seen as a way of reducing international pressure and placing it back on Palestinians – the logic being that once Israelis prove their willingness for peace, the fractured Palestinian factions would be forced to do the same. Much like a game of tennis, the ball was supposed to be back in the Palestinian court – where the two factions would be too busy fighting each other to return the serve.
However, the recent announcement by Hamas, in line with the international and UN consensus on the conflict’s resolution, has once more sent the ball flying to the Israeli side.
Hamas is now willing to divide Jerusalem and accept a Palestinian state on 22% of the historical land of Palestine. Moreover, they have agreed to allow PA negotiators to settle the remainder of final status issues in their efforts to fulfill the ‘national program’. Though the internal division within Palestinian politics remains, even deepening this week, its impact will apparently not extend to the negotiating table.
The ball is now back on the Israeli side, and this time they may be the ones too busy fighting to return the onus back to the Palestinians. Netanyahu’s fragile right-wing coalition should now be expected to make the same concessions as their ‘extremist’ counterpart Hamas. That means agreeing to serious negotiations over issues both practical and ideological, including the final status of the Holy City. A failure to do so will make Israel appear to be standing in the way of peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment