Hamas, Fatah push ahead on reconciliation to counter US peace plan
The US peace plan has left no choice for Hamas and Fatah but to seek an end to Palestinian division, which was made clear in the efforts to revive this file and draft a unified strategy to counter the US proposal.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — US President Donald Trump's announcement of the details of the US Middle East peace plan — known as the deal of the century — on Jan. 28 challenged the Palestinian Authority's (PA) ability to develop a national strategy to counter it.
The PA is in a race against time to take some steps within this strategy before the Israeli elections scheduled for March 2020, after which Israel is expected to start implementing the terms of the deal — especially with regard to annexing parts of the West Bank and declaring Israeli sovereignty over them.
The PA is operating through two main paths before the Israeli elections are held in order to confront the deal, the first of which is mobilizing Arab and international support rejecting the deal.
The PA first obtained a unanimous position opposing the deal from Arab League members Feb. 1 and then from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Feb. 3.
