Israeli media: Palestinian reconciliation detrimental to 'Israel'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media + Al Mayadeen
27 Jul 2023 00:25

A meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh has alarmed Israeli experts who believe that a deal between the two will be detrimental to 'Israel'.

Representatives of Palestinian factions attend a video conference with PA President Mahmoud Abbas (screen) and other representatives in Ramallah, in a rare event in response to the normalization accords, Palestinian Embassy, Beirut, Lebanon, September 3, 2020. (AFP)

A possible agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) would prove to be detrimental to "Israel", Israeli media outlets said, commenting on a meeting of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the President of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ankara, Turkey.

Moreover, Israeli Channel 13 said that Palestinian organizations in the north and the south are monitoring, closely, the division growing within Israeli society in parallel to internal Palestinian reconciliation taking place under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Arab affairs expert for the Israeli channel, Hazi Simantov, pointed out that the two leaders meeting in Ankara is saying that there is talk of a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the PA, which may bring forward a new government that includes Hamas's support or participation.

Simantov added, "It is not certain that this agreement will be achieved, but Palestinian sources say that there is a common interest for both parties against Israel, and therefore if this agreement happens, it will be very bad for Israel."

PA detains Resistance fighters

However, the success of a Palestinian reconciliation intrinsically depends on the success of the meeting of the leaders of Palestinian factions in Cario on Sunday.

Today, the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), Talal Naji, confirmed in an interview with Al Mayadeen that he will not attend the meeting unless the PA releases a group of arbitrarily detained Resistance fighters.

Naji echoed the statements of the leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), who said that they will not participate in the meeting unless all detainees are released from the PA's detention centers.

Abbas meets with Haniyeh in Ankara

Today, Abbas and the head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, met with Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Earlier in the day, the two Palestinian leaders met to discuss honestly and comprehensively a number of important domestic issues in preparation for the meeting in Cario, according to Hussam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau.

Badran said that the Hamas delegation stressed Resistance as the most effective way to confront the occupation and the dangers that threaten the Palestinian cause.

He revealed that Hamas stressed, "The outcomes of the meeting of the secretaries-general must align with the aspirations and hopes of our people," stressing the need for adequate preparation and creating favorable conditions to ensure its success.

The participants agreed on the necessity of uniting Palestinian efforts to confront the imminent dangers facing the Palestinian cause, especially the extremist projects of the far-right occupation government, which aims to expand settlements and exploit the resources of the Palestinian people.