As Palestinian resistance factions call for the PLO to withdraw its recognition of Israel, China and Russia are stepping forward to broker consensus among Palestinian political factions.
At a critical juncture for the Palestinian cause, following Israel’s nine-month-long aggression against Gaza, Palestinian political factions are urgently deliberating new strategic directions
Resistance groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have emerged as the primary voices urging the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to withdraw its recognition of Israel, a statement made in reaction to “the Knesset’s decision not to recognize a Palestinian state” – a foundational tenet of the Oslo Agreement which Tel Aviv has long ignored.
These calls come in response to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) abject diplomatic and political failure to effectively halt Israeli annexation plans, the daily aggressions of occupation forces, the collapse of the decades long “peace process,” and the encroachment of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The PA’s inability to achieve national liberation goals has sparked a wide debate on how to reverse the tide and establish a unified blueprint for Palestinians to regain their rights.
Last week, 14 Palestinian factions signed the ‘Beijing Declaration’ to end the division and achieve national reconciliation. The document, issued at the end of a conference held in Beijing from 21 to 23 July, called for comprehensive national unity among all forces within the framework of the PLO and the formation of a temporary national consensus government.
However, the statement did not specify a timeline for implementation, which is considered a weakness.
The conference was attended by Fatah, Hamas, PIJ, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine(PFLP), the Palestinian People’s Party, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian National Initiative, the Popular Front – General Command (PFLP-GC), the Palestinian Democratic Union, the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Arab Liberation Front, the Arab Palestinian Front, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Palestinian People.
Positions of the Palestinian factions
Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, and leads the ongoing military confrontation with Israeli occupation forces, calls for non-recognition of ‘Israel’ and rejects the Oslo process, which it considers insufficient for achieving Palestinian goals.
In previous official statements, Hamas has described the agreements as ‘betrayal’ of the Palestinian people and emphasized their right to resist in all forms.
However, the 2017 Hamas political document marked a clear shift in its political stance by accepting a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. But following the Gaza genocide, that position may well be redundant.
Leftist Palestinian parties, such as the PFLP, take a similar stance, having suspended its membership in the PLO and the Palestinian National Council in protest against the PA’s security coordination with Israel, the monopolization of political decision-making by President Mahmoud Abbas, objections to the Oslo process and harmful PA policies.
The PFLP believes that these agreements have only increased illegal Jewish settlement expansion and Israeli repression of the Palestinian people and calls for escalating resistance and increasing international pressure on Tel Aviv.
The PA’s ‘Stockholm Syndrome’
PA President Mahmoud Abbas, it is important to note, does not have a mandate to represent Palestinians, as he remains unelected since his term expired in 2009.
Despite Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Abbas and the PA continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining recognition of Israel and adhering to previous agreements as conditions for any Palestinian political faction rejoining the PLO – irregardless of Tel Aviv’s nonstop violations of said agreements and understandings.
In his UN General Assembly speech last year, the Palestinian leader continued to cleave to the notion of a “two-state solution,” saying A UN conference “may be the last opportunity to salvage the two-state solution and to prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously and threatening the security and stability of our region and the entire world.”
At the core of the disagreement is the PA belief that withdrawing recognition of Israel could lead to catastrophic political and economic consequences, strengthening the position of the extreme Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet members like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who reject the Oslo process and promote settlement expansion and annexation of territories.
Abbas’s stance on the Gaza war has also raised suspicion among the factions, with his statements condemning the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation and justifying some of the occupation’s crimes sparking anger among Palestinians.
On May 16, Abbas said that “Hamas carried out the Al-Aqsa Flood operation with a unilateral decision, giving Israel a pretext to attack Gaza.”
He added that “Hamas’s refusal to end the division and return to the Palestinian legitimacy umbrella served the Israeli plan that the occupation government was working to implement before October 7, to cement the separation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and Jerusalem, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state and weakening the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization.”
Furthermore, Abbas has taken unilateral steps, such as dismissing the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and assigning Mohammad Mustafa to form a government without any national consensus – a move rejected by other Palestinian political factions.
International efforts for reconciliation
Despite these differences, efforts continue to achieve reconciliation between the various factions..
As one of the most complex issues in international politics, the Palestinian issue has inevitably undergone significant shifts over the decades, with a greater role emerging for Russia and China in recent years.
The decline of US political influence in West Asia, due to repeated failures in peace agreements and Washington’s strong-pro Israel bias, has opened the door for emerging powers to play more active roles in conflict resolution.
Russia has mediated between Palestinian factions in recent years. hosting several meetings between representatives of Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front in an effort to strike a consensus.
Although Russian initiatives have not translated into tangible agreements – largely due to the political calculations of President Mahmoud Abbas – they did revive discussion about the possibility of achieving Palestinian reconciliation and have resulted in political papers that can be used as a basis for any serious future agreement.
But Moscow rejects the idea of withdrawing recognition of Israel, as it supports the foundations of a two-state solution and follows international frameworks for the resolution of this conflict. Russia is notably part of the Quartet – a mediating group that includes the US, UN, EU, and Russia – which conditioned Hamas, after forming its government, to recognize Israel and accept Oslo and various international agreements.
At the same time, Moscow emphasizes the need for international pressure on Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967.
China has also increased its involvement in the Palestinian issue, as evidenced by its hosting of Palestinian factions in Beijing under the supervision of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Unlike Washington, which promotes division between and the exclusion of Palestinian political parties, Beijing’s initiatives aim to promote Palestinian reconciliation as a first step towards a greater role in the peace process.
China’s conflict resolution moved to center stage amid Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and the unwillingness of the US to play a constructive role in halting the shocking aggression.
Although China’s movement is slow, it is carefully planned. Beijing focuses on Palestinian reconciliation as an essential first step to opening up China’s role in advancing a peace process.
By inserting itself into the most intractable of international conflicts, China is also messaging Washington that it is capable of challenging US control over key global political issues, further consolidating its position as a rising international power.
After the signing of the “Beijing Declaration,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning noted that the meeting of 14 Palestinian factions in Beijing – a first of this magnitude in support of national reconciliation – represents a significant hope for the Palestinian people.
Importantly, China proposed a three-step initiative regarding Gaza: first, to enhance the achievement of a comprehensive, lasting, and sustainable ceasefire as soon as possible and ensure the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid and relief.
The second step is based on the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” and working together to strengthen post-war governance in Gaza. The third step involves encouraging Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations and beginning the implementation of the “two-state solution.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman emphasized that the “three steps” are interconnected and indispensable, stressing that China and Palestine are brothers and good partners who trust each other.
Post-Oslo Palestinian politics
The call to withdraw recognition of Israel by Palestinian factions reflects growing frustration over the ongoing genocide in Gaza, continued Israeli annexation and settlement expansion policies, and international inaction in pressuring Israel to respect Palestinian rights.
But such calls face significant obstacles, namely, a lack of acceptance by the current Palestinian leadership and the challenge of achieving national consensus.
Hamas and PIJ are not under any illusions regarding this political reality and the reluctance of the PA to change course. Nevertheless, their goal was to register a strong stance to cement recognition that the Oslo Accords have been obsolete for decades.
This approach may allow Palestinians to raise their demands and stimulate new dialogues, even if it does not lead to a radical change in the PA’s official positions.
The increasing calls to withdraw recognition of Israel signal a shift in the popular and political mood within not just Palestinian factions, but a general population already deeply disillusioned with the PA and Abbas’ leadership.
Looking ahead, it is likely that Russia and China will continue to support the Palestinian cause and seek to influence a political settlement that is not controlled by the US.
But, ultimately, success in achieving this will require unifying the Palestinian political system, reforming the PLO, and maintaining sustained resistance against the occupation state.
By Ibrahim Al-Madhoun
Published by The Cradle
Republished by The 21st Century
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of 21cir.com