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Palestinian Factions Agree in Moscow to Try to Reach ‘National Unity’

Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, 01 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, 01 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Palestinian Factions Agree in Moscow to Try to Reach ‘National Unity’

Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, 01 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, 01 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in an official capacity for the first time since Oct. 7 this week at a summit hosted by Russia, along with other Palestinian factions.

Following two days of meetings, the factions said in a joint statement Friday that they aim to hold more rounds of meetings to reach “national unity that includes all Palestinian forces and factions within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

Hamas is not part of the Fatah-dominated PLO, which has officially recognized the state of Israel. Hamas does not — although its leaders have signaled they are interested in joining the PLO, which would at least implicitly entail recognizing Israel based upon pre-1967 borders.

Hamas political official Osama Hamdan said last week that his group hopes to reach a “unified position” on future governance of the Palestinian territories with Fatah and other factions.

Hamdan said Hamas supports a “Palestinian government to be formed by the factions” that would oversee post-war reconstruction and prepare for general elections in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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Human Rights Watch Says Israel's Deprivation of Water in Gaza is Act of Genocide

Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
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Human Rights Watch Says Israel's Deprivation of Water in Gaza is Act of Genocide

Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.
"This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to an 'act of genocide' under the Genocide Convention of 1948," Human Rights Watch said in its report.
Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas-led attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war, reported Reuters.
In a statement on X, Israel's foreign ministry wrote: "The truth is the complete opposite of HRW's lies."
"Since the beginning of the war, Israel has facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite operating under constant attacks of Hamas terror organization," the statement said.
Although the report described the deprivation of water as an act of genocide, it noted that proving the crime of genocide against Israeli officials would also require establishing their intent. It cited statements by some senior Israeli officials which it said suggested they "wish to destroy Palestinians" which means the deprivation of water "may amount to the crime of genocide".
"What we have found is that the Israeli government is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza by denying them the water that they need to survive," Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch Middle East director told a press conference.
In its response, Israel said it had ensured water infrastructure remained operational. It said international partners had sent water tankers through Israeli crossings, including last week, and ⁠Israel had facilitated the entry of more than 1.2 million tons of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
Human Rights Watch is the second major rights group in a month to use the word genocide to describe the actions of Israel in Gaza, after Amnesty International issued a report that concluded Israel was committing genocide.
Both reports came just weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. They deny the allegations.
The 184-page Human Rights Watch report said the Israeli government stopped water being piped into Gaza and cut off electricity and restricted fuel which meant Gaza's own water and sanitation facilities could not be used.
As a result, Palestinians in Gaza had access to only a few liters of water a day in many areas, far below the 15-liter-threshold for survival, the group said. Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.