In a recent meeting in Moscow, senior Hamas officials discussed with Russian officials the organization’s desire for Russia to encourage Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to initiate negotiations for a national unity government following the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, met with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, to address issues surrounding Palestinian national unity and the establishment of a government to govern the Gaza Strip in the post-war context.
According to RIA Novosti, Marzouk stated, “We discussed the need for Palestinian national unity and the formation of a government to manage Gaza after the war.” He emphasized that Hamas is requesting Russia’s assistance in persuading Abbas to engage in discussions about forming a unity government. Abbas is currently in Kazan, Russia, attending the BRICS summit.
The Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas and primarily controlled by the Fatah political faction, governs limited areas of the West Bank, which has long been under Israeli occupation. The relationship between Fatah and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, has been fraught with tension for years. In 2007, a brief conflict resulted in Fatah being expelled from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong opposition to the proposal that the Palestinian Authority should take over governance of the Gaza Strip after the conflict ends.
