| 520 |
|
|
|b After 1994 the Palestinian National Dialogue dealt with different issues. These included ending resistance and the Intifada, recognizing the Oslo Accords, agreeing on the settlement option, and recognizing Israel. In the years 2002 to 2004 the national dialogue entered a new stage, because it tried to unify the leading resistance factions and the Palestinian people, and attempted to calm Israel. In March 2006 the dialogue began a new stage which called for the rebuilding of the Palestinian homeland, and agreement on temporary and conditional peace with the occupier. After Hamas won control of the government in March 2006, conflict and fighting raged in Palestinian. As a result of this, the hope for national failed, as did the Mecca Agreement of February, 2007. When Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007 this aggravated the division. In a televised speech in June 2008, the Palestinian president, called for a Palestinian dialogue without stipulating any previous conditions. This followed the failure of the Fatah movement to uphold the Sana>a Declaration on the 23rd March, 2008. In November 2008, the Cairo Talks called for a Palestinian dialogue which raised many questions. Despite all efforts it did not have the elements necessary to succeed, especially after a year of the security situation in Gaza. The Palestinian factions have not taken a clear position on the bilateral dialogue with the head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Suleiman. Also, there are still complicated issues like the current crisis and the difficulty of any agreement among competing factions. Sources of information indicate that in the absence of successful dialogue, Egypt will meet with the individual parties. Then it will present its proposals to the Arab League for them to be imposed on the Palestinian parties: then a mechanism for implementation must be worked out. This is the opinion of the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas who was disappointed by the Yemeni initiative. Some hoped that Egypt might achieve a conciliatory agreement, calling Hamas, Fatah, and other factions to sign it on the first of November 2008. Any party refusing to agree would be pressured by the Arab League. If there is the will to make the dialogue a success, the main challenge will be to achieve national unity against the occupier. Arab countries must not favor any Palestinian party. They must support the Palestinian national interest. There must be agreement on the mechanism for implementation of its terms on the ground.
|
