The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah movement, both of which are headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, have voiced displeasure with the Gaza ceasefire plan presented by U.S. President Joe Biden during his May 31, 2024 speech about the war. In their view, the deal would only entrench the intra-Palestinian schism by allowing Hamas to continue ruling the Gaza Strip while excluding the Palestinian Authority (PA) from Gaza.
This displeasure was expressed in several articles published in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. The articles harshly criticized the deal for not including a clear vision for a comprehensive solution of the Palestinian issue in the context of a two-state solution. They also mocked Hamas and asserted that it is operating in a fashion that contradicts the statements made by its own leadership regarding the total liberation of Palestine. Hamas, they added, has accepted Biden's offer out of "opportunism," "regional considerations," and even "treason," with the goal of turning Gaza into an Islamic emirate under Muslim Brotherhood hegemony instead of making it part of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Similar criticisms were voiced by Fatah and PA officials who called for a political solution that would not separate the West Bank from Gaza.
The following are translated excerpts from the articles and the officials' statements.
PA Daily: The Deal Would Allow Hamas To Continue Its Attempts To Establish An Islamic Emirate In Gaza With No PA Presence
The June 3, 2024 editorial of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida criticized the Gaza ceasefire deal presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on the grounds that it is unclear, does not present a clear vision for a comprehensive solution and cannot be implemented. Among other things, the article asserted that Hamas has embraced the deal out of opportunism, seeing it as a chance to preserve its rule in the Gaza Strip and perhaps to even implement its ideology and transform Gaza into an Islamic emirate. The editorial said:
"There is no longer any doubt that what Hamas is discussing in the negotiations rooms is not a comprehensive deal that will stop the hostile Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and against the occupied Palestinian [West] Bank. This is evident from the fact that the [Hamas] movement praised U.S. President Joe Biden's plan, which did not present any vision or suggestion for a comprehensive solution!
"Hamas's embrace of this unclear plan, which does not even appear to be implementable, proves only one fact: that, on a strategic level, Hamas is still betting on its project [to establish] an [Islamic] emirate that will be under the rule and hegemony of the Muslim Brotherhood, instead of the project of [establishing] an independent Palestinian state from Rafah to Jenin with East Jerusalem as its capital. This proves that Hamas's rule is still rooted in an identity that is not a national [Palestinian] identity but rather an ideological and even sectarian identity…
"As part of this, Hamas is seeking liberal (!!) support for its ideological identity, and believes that it is possible to gain [such support] by agreeing to the American offers, and undoubtedly [also] to the Israeli offers – as long as they align with its main goal of regaining its control of the Gaza Strip in a fashion that will not allow the PA to be present there at all, not even at the Rafah crossing…
"[Hamas's efforts to gain] liberal support for its ideological identity is the height of opportunism, if not treason from the perspective of Islamic law, but all the Islamist groups see this as a legitimate political move to [attain] rulership and power…
"[In sum,] Hamas has no way to survive other than getting rid of the illusions of [establishing] the [Islamic] emirate…"[1]
PA Daily: Biden's Offer Does Not Mention The Two-State Solution; Hamas Has Been Flexible Towards It Only To Ensure Its Rule In Gaza
Another editorial in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, published on June 2, criticized President Biden's proposed deal for "saying not a word about the two-state solution," which, it argued, led Hamas to interpret the deal as a possible way for it to continue ruling the Gaza Strip. It said:
"The details reported about the negotiations for prisoner exchange and for a sustainable ceasefire make it clear that [what Hamas presents as] the crushing defeat of the Israeli army of aggression is just a flowery statement that has nothing to do with reality. These details reflect Hamas's moderation, whose only purpose it to make deals that will keep it on the throne in Gaza!! All while Israeli Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu continues his propaganda tactics in these negotiations to keep the fire of the war burning in the wounded Gaza Strip. Moreover, he has long declared and he continues to openly declare that he will not stop the war, which was [also] his clear response to U.S. President [Biden's] speech…
"Despite this clear militant response from Israel, Hamas officially announced that it viewed the American president's speech positively!... Hamas's flexibility has exceeded the boundaries of resistance in its simplest form, and has even rendered groundless the declarations made by its Political Bureau chief Isma'il Haniya, who said last week at the funeral ceremony for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that 'Gaza will continue the resistance until achieving the liberation of the land – all the land – with blessed Jerusalem at its heart!!!'
The American president did not suggest and would never have suggested to liberate the land, all the land, with blessed Jerusalem at its heart. In fact, he described a deal whose gist is primarily safeguarding and defending Israel. Hamas clearly understood this very well when it responded to Biden's speech, [but] perhaps it found in his speech an implication that it would be able to regain control of Gaza, especially in light of the fact that the American president said not a word about the two-state solution. This implication [motivated] the flexibility shown by Hamas, which responded positively [to the proposed deal]. Hamas, for its part, hinted that it is willing to regain control [of Gaza] without the weapons of the resistance, when it passed in silence over Biden's statement that it no longer had the ability to do what it did on October 7 last year!
"After this excessive flexibility there will be neither weapons nor liberation. The Al-Aqsa Flood [operation] had to do with regional considerations and decisions that undermined the security of the Gaza Strip and deprived its people of safety…
"Israel [dominated by] the racist extremist right will not stop its war on the [Gaza] Strip, and its eyes are on the occupied Palestinian [West] Bank – for ultimately its only goal is to destroy the Palestinian national enterprise, the enterprise of the free, independent state [stretching] from Jenin to Rafah, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas has so far been ignoring this, and is negotiating in order to regain control of Gaza and nothing more…!"[2]
Palestinian Journalist: Will Hamas Swallow Biden's Bait, Aimed At Perpetuating The Palestinian Schism?
Similar arguments were made by Al-Hayat Al-Jadida columnist Bassem Barhoum, who wrote: "This initiative perpetuates the division and the schism, as well as the occupation and Israel's security control of the [Gaza] Strip, and perpetuates the fact that there is no Palestinian state on the horizon despite the international momentum [of countries that have] recognized it. We must understand that this initiative is a way of continuing the war in a different form…
"We must certainly stress that we want an immediate end to the war. But this initiative does not guarantee that. We want the [Gaza] Strip to be reunited with the West Bank, but the initiative perpetuates the schism… The ball is [now] in Hamas' court. Does it want to swallow Biden's bait, or will it opt for Palestinian unity and refuse to perpetuate the division and the schism? We shall wait and see!"[3]
PA And Fatah Officials: Biden's Proposal Perpetuates The Separation Between Gaza And The West Bank And Excludes The PA From Gaza
Fatah spokesperson Abd Al-Fattah Doleh said to the Egyptian Al-Kahira Al-Akhbariyya channel: "We hope Biden's plan will not deepen the geographic separation between Gaza and the West Bank."[4] In remarks to the Palestinian daily Al-Quds, he added: "We are not interested in partial solutions. Yes, we do want the aggression to end and we want to restore life and aid to Gaza, but this must be part of a political track and a comprehensive solution that will not sever Gaza geographically from the West Bank." The deal, he clarified, must not include just "the release of the prisoners and a temporary suspension of the aggression without this being part of a comprehensive political solution. [The deal] must not disrupt the overall international trend that is heading towards the establishment of the Palestinian state…" He went on to say: "We welcome the proposal… as long as it is followed by a political move and a comprehensive solution – [a solution] that will not isolate Gaza from the West Bank, that will allow the PA to perform its duty to its people in both Gaza and in the [West] Bank, including in East Jerusalem, that will safeguard the status of the Palestinian people and of the PLO and ensure the Palestinian sovereignty over the Gaza Strip and the exclusive Palestinian management of [its affairs], and which will prevent any attempt to circumvent any of this."[5]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, an advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said about the proposed deal that "The U.S. always acts in Israel's favor… Even if the current round [of fighting between Hamas and Israel] ends… in the absence of a political solution, they will wage additional rounds of fighting that may be even graver and more tragic… If the occupation does not vanish and the situation remains the same, and in the absence of a comprehensive, urgent and just solution based on the international resolutions, the conflict will go on burning…"[6]
