Palestinian authority head Mahmoud Abbas speaking during the meeting in Cairo on July 30, 2023. Photo: Alsekeh.
By Resistance News Network – Jul 31, 2023
Yesterday, the Cairo meeting concluded after five hours of discussions between major Palestinian political factions, except those boycotting (PIJ). The emergency meeting was called in the wake of the Fury of Jenin battle, and a major point of contention was the release of the PA’s 50+ political prisoners, many of whom are PIJ leaders.
‘In summary, nothing was gained from the meeting, and no closing statement was agreed upon. In terms of the Palestinian political scene, this is a net positive, as the PA was not able to get its way to enshrine itself as the “representative” of the Palestinian people nor to subdue resistance.
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‘PIJ was willing to concede on some points had the PA agreed to release the political prisoners, a demand that Hamas, PFLP, and other factions pressured for as well. This was not achieved, and the result of the meeting was the formation of a “dialogue committee” to follow-up on the discussions, without a set date. This meeting comes following the October 2022 Algiers Accords, in which elections were agreed to be held within a year; however, the Cairo meeting differs in that it is the first of its kind in a long time that included so many factions, all of whom are targeted by the zionist government.
‘Five hours of discussion led to no result, but no result is favorable compared to the negative achievement of the PA seeking to establish “peaceful resistance” and “international legitimacy ” under a back-stabbing Oslo framework. This is especially true in light of the PA’s rabid pursual of resistance fighters (and journalists and students) and security coordination with the zionist entity in recent months following the Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh summits, anti-liberation behavior that did not cease despite the major resistance developments of the last year.
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‘The PA criminalizes the righteous resistance of the factions, but the factions still agreed to meet to agree to a broad political consensus. The PFLP and Hamas worked hard with other factions to ensure no concessions on resistance would be made. Although PIJ did not attend, it made its position clear that it would not agree to any dialogue without the release of the PA’s political prisoners, a demand that other factions, especially PFLP, rallied around. This demand, and the cessation of political arrests, was summarily rejected by the Palestinian Authority.
‘In summary, Abbas failed to gain any achievement except for the picture of Palestinian leaders sitting side by side, a false illusion of unity in contrast to the true unity on the ground and in the battlefield. Abbas stands with his illegally appointed Central Council members, a move rejected fully by all factions. PFLP led the charge on drafting a final statement and code of honor, which was developed in conjunction with the other factions to develop a unified resistance and representation strategy. What is clear is that mobilization and coordination of factions for a true national consensus is possible, but the US- and zionist-backed Palestinian Authority was and continues to be an obstacle’
