According to the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Information Center (PIC), a spokesman for the group asserts that an Egyptian document outlining guidelines for internal Palestinian reconciliation “contains positive points that could be built upon.” He went on to say that Hamas will agree to the document once necessary changes and clarifications are made to it.
Hamas's statement comes shortly after the group received the draft of the Egyptian plan and agreed to meet with Fatah and other Palestinian factions in Cairo this coming November. According to Al-Jazeera, the Egyptian plan calls for the creation of a national consensus government, an independent Palestinian security force, as well as the incorporation of Hamas into the PLO.
Tensions between Hamas and Fatah, which culminated with Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, have only been increasingly antagonized by current disagreement over the end date of President Mahmoud Abbas's term.
While the conditions put forth by Egypt will undoubtedly see demands by Hamas for rewording/adjustment, namely those matters concerning security and the nature of its ‘incorporation’ into the PLO, the Egyptian plan is perhaps the only hope at this point for providing a ‘road-map’ for Palestinian reconciliation. However, divergent policies between the two parties towards Israel will likely remain a long-term challenge to the formation of cohesive national Palestinian stance on the issue.
