RAMALLAH, West Bank — The outbreak of COVID-19 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the effort to contain it has presented an opportunity for Fatah and Hamas to unite in at least one respect. Despite the critical nature of the current situation, the years of mutual animosity and recrimination between the factions is making cooperation difficult. As of April 20, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center recorded 439 COVID-19 cases in Gaza and the West Bank, 3 deaths, and 71 recoveries.
After US President Donald Trump unveiled the details of his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace on Jan. 28, the two organizations opened new channels of communication, finding themselves in agreement in their opposition to the plan. Of note, Hamas took part in a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas, to look into mechanisms to respond to the plan. Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh called on Abbas to put all differences aside under the circumstances, stressing that Hamas stood behind the “president’s firm positions.” Days later, however, a Hamas-PLO meeting scheduled for Feb. 3 in Gaza failed to materialize, with each side blaming the other.
