FATAH-HAMAS RECONCILIATION TALKS TO RESUME JULY 25

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001126

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019
TAGS: PTER PINS PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM KWBG IS
SUBJECT: FATAH-HAMAS RECONCILIATION TALKS TO RESUME JULY 25

Classified By: Deputy Principal Officer Greg Marchese
for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

Summary
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1. (C) A sixth round of reconciliation talks between Hamas
and Fatah representatives in Cairo ended June 30 without
agreement. Fatah officials who participated in the talks
blamed the continuing impasse on Hamas intransigence, citing
Hamas's insistence on the release of all Hamas-affiliated
prisoners held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a
precondition. In press statements, Hamas officials blamed
Fatah's refusal to match the "reconciliatory" positions
recently adopted by Hamas. According to Fatah officials and
local media, Egyptian officials plan to convene a seventh
round of talks in Cairo on July 25, aiming for a formal
agreement by July 28. End summary.

Talks Suspended June 30; to Resume July 25
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2. (C) On June 27, Egyptian mediators re-convened
reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas representatives
in Cairo for a sixth round. Dialogue stopped on June 30 with
the decision of Egyptian officials to defer further
discussions. The talks are now scheduled to resume July 25,
and the planned July 7 signing of a Fatah-Hamas
reconciliation agreement, which had been publicly announced
by Egyptian officials, has now been delayed until July 28.

Despite Egyptian Pressure, Wide Gaps Remain
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3. (C) Fatah officials noted that, despite the attempts of
Egyptian officials to introduce bridging proposals enabling
Fatah and Hamas to concur on internationally-acceptable terms
for reconciliation, it had not been possible to close the gap
between the two parties' positions on key issues, including:

- Prisoners: Hamas (according to Fatah officials)
demanded the cessation of all PA arrests of Hamas members, as
well as the release by July 4 of more than 900
Hamas-affiliated prisoners currently held in PA custody.
Despite the June 29 release of 100 Hamas prisoners, intended
by the PA as a goodwill gesture, Fatah officials noted that
the PA plans to continue security operations and arrests of
Hamas members carrying weapons in the West Bank;

- Elections: Disagreements persisted about the number
of seats dedicated to national vs. district slates, with
Hamas requesting that 60% of the PA's 132 seats be allocated
at the national level, and Fatah countering with an 80%
national allocation. Fatah's proposal that the number of
electoral districts be reduced to four in the West Bank and
three in Gaza was rejected by Hamas, which argued for
retention of the status quo (sixteen districts in the West
Bank, seven in Gaza);

- Joint Security Force: Fatah and Hamas representatives
were unable to reach agreement on the number of security
personnel appropriate for the proposed Joint Security Force,
which would be tasked with providing Gaza security;
disagreements also surfaced in discussions about the proposed
force's chain of command;

- Factional Liaison Committee: According to Fatah, the
two parties continue to differ in their respective views of
the purpose and mandate of the proposed Factional Liaison
Committee, with Fatah viewing the committee as a venue for
coordination between the two factions and the PA President,
and Hamas proposing that it function as a liaison between
governing authorities in the West Bank and Gaza.

Fatah Official Blames Hamas Intransigence for Delay
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4. (C) Fatah official Azam al-Ahmad, who had previously
made public statements praising progress in the Cairo talks,
said privately to PolSpec that he doubted Hamas had sincere
intentions to reach an agreement. Al-Ahmad argued that
Hamas's sole interest in the formation of a Factional Liaison
Committee appeared to be the legitimization of Hamas control
of Gaza. He also noted that the limited flexibility Hamas
had displayed in dialogue on June 29 disappeared on June 30,
with the appearance of a detailed draft agreement, suggesting
that Hamas representatives pressured Egyptian officials to

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postpone the talks until the end of July because Hamas was
"simply not ready" to reach an agreement.

Prisoners Issue Continues to Hold Center Stage
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5. (C) According to Fatah representatives present at the
talks, Hamas representatives continued to precondition
progress on the resolution of Hamas's demand that PA Security
Forces cease all detentions of Hamas members in the West Bank
and immediately release the more than 900 Hamas-affiliated
prisoners currently held in PA custody. Majed Faraj, head of
PA Military Intelligence and member of the Fatah delegation,
told PolSpec that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleyman
had attempted to defend Fatah's and the PA's position on
detentions to Hamas delegates, reasoning that the PA was
entitled to take measures such as arrests to ensure public
security, and pointing out that Egypt employed similar
measures against Muslim Brotherhood members found breaking
the law. Deep divisions on this issue persisted, with Hamas
publicly labeling arrests as "political" that the PA
considers justified on legal and security grounds, and Fatah
members like al-Ahmad accusing Hamas of deliberately
exaggerating the prisoners issue as a pretext for avoiding
difficult compromises.

Subcommittees to Meet in Cairo in the Interim
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6. (C) Fatah official al-Ahmad noted that Egyptian mediator
Suleyman had expressed frustration with the impasse,
threatening at one point to abandon the dialogue. Despite
this, al-Ahmad and other Fatah officials involved in the
discussions characterized the Egyptians as committed to
continuing their efforts to broker an agreement. To that
end, a series of subcommittee meetings are apparently planned
for July, with Egyptian mediators inviting Fatah and Hamas
subcommittee attendees to draft an "agreement" that clearly
defines issues of contention in writing. Fatah officials
expressed pessimism about the prospect for progress,
explaining that, in their view, the core issue remained
Hamas's unwillingness to refrain from delaying tactics and
take decisive action towards reconciliation.
WALLES