Hamas and Fatah are expected to attend a meeting in Moscow to discuss the future governance of a Palestinian state.
Representatives of Palestinian political factions, including Hamas and Fatah, are expected to meet in the Russian capital Moscow to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government amid Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 people.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said Thursday that while there was a lot of “uncertainty” around the meeting, it should last three days for the factions to develop a “unified strategy.”
“Russia has held similar meetings before, so we know that this time is the fourth such meeting, and obviously they (will) try to help achieve reconciliation between all these Palestinian factions,” Shapovalova said.
Before the meeting, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Wednesday that he did not expect “miracles” from the meeting.
“We hope that there will be good results in terms of mutual understanding between all factions on the need to support such a technocratic government that emerges,” Malki said.
“Of course, we do not expect miracles to happen at a simple meeting in Moscow, but I think that the Moscow meeting should soon be followed by other meetings in the region.”
The meeting comes days after Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the resignation of his government, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank. He cited the escalation of violence in the occupied territories and the war in Gaza as reasons for his resignation.
“I see that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the new reality in Gaza and the need for a Palestinian-Palestinian consensus based on Palestinian unity and the extension of unity of authority over the land of Palestine. “, he said Monday.
Shtayyeh, who will remain in office until a new prime minister is announced, said the new administration will have to take into account the emerging reality in Gaza after five months of intense Israeli bombardment.
But his resignation marked a shift that underscores President Mahmoud Abbas’s desire to ensure the PA maintains its claim to leadership as international pressure mounts for a revival of efforts to create a Palestinian state.
However, the PA, established 30 years ago as part of the Oslo peace accords, has faced widespread criticism of its effectiveness, with its leaders having little practical power. It is deeply unpopular among Palestinians.
But Malki, speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, said the government’s resignation was designed to prevent international partners from saying the Palestinian Authority was not collaborating.
“We want to show that we are ready…to engage and be ready, just so as not to be seen as an obstacle to the implementation of any process that should go further,” he said.
Israel has previously said it would not accept the Palestinian Authority governing Gaza after the war and vowed to “destroy” Hamas after its October 7 attack, which killed 1,139 Israelis.
During the five months of war, around 30,000 Palestinian civilians were killed in the Israeli response to the attack, Gaza’s health ministry reported.