Despite the meetings and steps undertaken by Hamas’ and Fatah’s leaders to present a united front following Israel's normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, Hamas’ middle leadership level and popular organizational bases do not place great trust in what they called “false unity,” arguing that Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have shown a lack of credibility when it comes to reconciliation with Hamas in the past.

For them, Fatah and the PA efforts are not patriotic but rather tactical, strategic, temporary and stem from their own interests. They claim the PA and Fatah did not change their security services’ approach toward Hamas in the West Bank, as they continue to arrest and summon Hamas cadres despite the positive meetings in front of the cameras and under the pretext that they fear Hamas will take control of the West Bank as it did in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

The Committee of Families of Political Prisoners in the West Bank, a nongovernmental institution concerned with the affairs of Hamas members imprisoned by the PA, said in its monthly report issued Sept. 10 that the PA continues its violations, arresting 30 political activists, summoning 33 people, and raiding nine homes and workplaces. The violations, according to the report, targeted 24 former prisoners, 24 released political prisoners, university students, journalists, teachers and university lecturers, most of whom are Hamas cadres. The most violations were recorded in the West Bank city of Hebron, followed by Jenin and Nablus.

Nayef Rajoub, former minister of endowments in the Hamas-run government and a Hamas leader in the West Bank, told Al-Monitor, “The movement welcomes any step to end the division and bless any effort in this direction. Yet our experience with the PA has been bitter. Numerous agreements were signed with the PA in the presence of regional and international witnesses. Every time, the PA would circumvent what was agreed upon. Based on that, we need to see how it is going to act on the ground in order for the Palestinian street to be reassured and see that it is being serious in overcoming differences and divide.”