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Palestinian Reconciliation Not Close

Despite recent meetings in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas aimed at reconciliation, in light of current conditions the two sides are still far from reaching a lasting agreement, writes Naela Khalil.
Masked Palestinian gunmen hold weapons atop a roof during the funeral of Arafat Jaradat in the West Bank village of Se'eer, near Hebron February 25, 2013. Jaradat's death in an Israeli jail on Saturday and a hunger strike by four other Palestinian inmates have raised tension in the occupied territory after repeated clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli soldiers in recent days. Israeli troops, on high alert, took up positions outside Jaradat's home village of Se'eer, in likely earshot of the bursts of a
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Despite the "warm peace" witnessed between Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah official responsible for the reconciliation file, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau, on Feb. 28 in Cairo, the meeting's good feelings did not transfer to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip in any way. Moreover, the relationship between the two movements continues to deteriorate.

Political analyst Hani al-Masry, who is currently in Cairo following up on Palestinian reconciliation meetings, noted, "Yes, today there was a meeting and a  'warm peace' between Ahmad and Abu Marzouk, whoever saw them would even assume they were friends and that the relationship between Fatah and Hamas was fine. However, the situation on the ground between the two movements is drastically different."

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