Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that it’s time to “open for review” all Palestinian past agreements with Israel, including the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The Oslo Accords effectively created the Palestinian Authority and are considered the benchmark agreement aimed at bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end by means of territorial concessions.
According to Hadashot evening news, Abbas’s remarks followed yet another failed round of Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks in Cairo.
Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the European Union, United States, Israel and several other countries, ousted Abbas’s Fatah-led government from the Gaza Strip in a military coup in 2007, effectively splitting the Palestinian areas into two political entities. All efforts made over the past decade to promote a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions—the latest brokered by Egypt in late 2017—have failed.
According to the report, the reconciliation talks have stalled to the point that Hamas officials have become wary of losing the Palestinian public’s support, especially given Abbas’s threat to impose new sanctions on Gaza, which is already dealing with a crippling economic crisis.
Palestinian sources reported that were especially discordant tones during Tuesday’s meeting in Cairo.
Fatah officials have accused Hamas of “betraying the Palestinian people” by agreeing to the construction of an Israeli-controlled Palestinian-oriented port in Cyprus—something that Hamas denies.
Hamas officials have also excoriated Abbas’s attempts to torpedo Egypt’s efforts to broker a longer-term cease-fire between the group and Israel, following weeks of growing hostilities.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Hamas said the measures taken to promote calm on the Gaza-Israel border and end the maritime blockade on the coastal enclave were garnering “a national consensus among the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance.”
“Our hand remains on the trigger, and we will protect the Palestinian people,” the Islamist terrorist group stressed.
The statement, which made no mention of a deal with Israel, lambasted the Palestinian Authority, saying, “We are not bound by any political agreement or international deal that relinquishes our land, recognizes the occupier or destroys the national project as you [Fatah] did. We did not recognize the Zionist entity and pledge to uphold security cooperation with them as you did, at the expense of the sacrifice made by our people.”
Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanaoui dismissed Fatah’s claims as “worthless,” saying, “Palestinian Authority officials fool no one. The people still support the resistance and we will keep protecting the Palestinian people.”
Hamas also urged the Palestinian Authority to revoke its recognition of Israel, cemented in the Oslo Accords, as well as stop all security coordination with Israel.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat slammed Hamas for holding indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, saying, “To talk about a ceasefire between a Palestinian faction and Israel is a red line. Only the Palestinian Authority is authorized to speak on behalf of the people.”
A Fatah spokesman reiterated that the Ramallah has “made it clear that no faction is allowed to negotiate with Israel; only the Palestinian Authority may hold discussions on matters relating to the Palestinian people.”