Fatah to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Stance towards US Hinges on Commitment to Int’l Resolutions on Jerusalem

Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
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Fatah to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Stance towards US Hinges on Commitment to Int’l Resolutions on Jerusalem

Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. REUTERS file photo

Attempts to complete the Palestinian reconciliation process, which has resumed in Cairo over the weekend, have been disrupted by unsettled disagreements over the Palestinian Authority’s failure to deploy its full authority over the Gaza Strip, according to Fatah, while Hamas is calling for easing pressure on the area.

Well-informed Egyptian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a meeting between the Hamas delegation and the representatives of the Egyptian intelligence body, in Cairo on Saturday evening, touched on government employees appointed by Hamas during the period of division, and the PA’s refusal to acknowledge their rights. The meeting also discussed Fatah’s reservations regarding the establishment of a security apparatus in Gaza.

Hamas also raised the problem of power shortage, according to the same sources.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, said: “An agreement has already been signed with (Hamas) and must be strictly implemented.”

He explained that the Palestinian government has not yet imposed its authority over the entire Gaza Strip, “while (the parallel government) of Hamas is still operating in the sector.”

Although the source told Asharq Al-Awsat that representatives of the Fatah movement were not present for the reconciliation talks, he said he expected members of the movement to join the meetings soon.

“It may be after tomorrow [Tuesday], if consensus was reached on some of the files under negotiation in Cairo,” the sources said.

In the same context, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Al-Ahmad to discuss consultations carried out by the Palestinian side both at the regional and international levels on the issue of Jerusalem, spokesman of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said.

He added that discussions focused on the impact of the US decision to consider Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, on the role of the United States as a broker of the peace process and the future of a just settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The Palestinian Authority will not back down before the United States declares its commitment to the legitimate resolutions on Jerusalem,” Al-Ahmed told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The United States is part of this society and cannot dictate its will to everyone by force,” he added.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on Monday in Cairo, where he held talks with Shoukry.



UN Chief Outlines Four Options for Embattled Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Chief Outlines Four Options for Embattled Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)

A review of the embattled United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, ordered by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has identified four possible ways forward for the organization that has lost US funding and been banned by Israel.

The proposals, seen by Reuters, are: inaction that could see the potential collapse of UNRWA; a reduction of services; the creation of an executive board to advise UNRWA; or maintaining UNRWA’s rights-based core while transferring services to host governments and the Palestinian Authority. While Guterres ordered the strategic assessment of UNRWA in April as part of his wider UN reform efforts, only the 193-member UN General Assembly can change UNRWA’s mandate.

UNRWA was established by the General Assembly in 1949 following the war surrounding the founding of Israel. It provides aid, health and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

“I believe it is imperative that Member States take action to protect the rights of Palestine refugees, the mandate of UNRWA and regional peace and security,” Guterres wrote in a letter dated on Monday and seen by Reuters submitting the UNRWA assessment to the General Assembly. The review comes after Israel adopted a law in October, which was enacted on January 30, that bans UNRWA's operation on Israeli land - including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally - and contact with Israeli authorities.

UNRWA is also dealing with a dire financial crisis, facing a $200-million deficit. The US was UNRWA's biggest donor, but former President Joe Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian Hamas group that triggered the war in Gaza. The funding halt was then extended by the US Congress and President Donald Trump.

FOUR OPTIONS

The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Hamas attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September by Israel - was also found to have had an UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided. Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, while UNRWA has said it has been the target of a "fierce disinformation campaign" to "portray the agency as a terrorist organization." Guterres and the UN Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of the aid response in Gaza.

The first possible option outlined by the UNRWA strategic assessment was inaction and the potential collapse of the agency, noting that “this scenario would exacerbate humanitarian need, heighten social unrest, and deepen regional fragility” and “represent a significant abandonment of Palestine refugees by the international community.”

The second option was to reduce services by “aligning UNRWA’s operations with a reduced and more predictable level of funding through service cuts and transfer of some functions to other actors.”

The third option was to create an executive board to advise and support UNRWA’s commissioner-general, enhance accountability and take responsibility for securing multi-year funding and aligning UNRWA’s funding and services. The final potential option would see UNRWA maintain its functions as custodian of Palestine refugee rights, registration, and advocacy for refugee access to services, “while progressively shifting service provision to host governments and the Palestinian Authority, with strong international commitment to funding.”