By Daoud Kuttab

The news out of Cairo regarding Palestinian reconciliation efforts appears to be generally positive. The delegation headed by senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk and Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmad met and agreed on a package deal that seems to address all the outstanding issues between the two parties. Statements issued in Cairo and published on the official websites of both groups are identical, which is a good sign. Details of the emerging agreement appear to indicate that the major outstanding tests needed for success have been passed:

• The composition of a new national unity government should be agreed to within one to three months.
• Once the composition of the government is resolved, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will issue a presidential decree to that effect and simultaneously present another calling for parliamentary and presidential elections in the West Bank and Gaza.
• Hamas and Fatah delegations will meet to finalize agreements on an election law, the work of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and a mechanism for selecting a unified Palestinian National Council (PNC), the highest body within the Palestine Liberation Organization.
• A meeting headed by the current PNC chairman, Salim Zanoun, will take place in Amman on May 21 to begin the final push toward agreement on the mechanism for choosing the members of the next PNC. This meeting is to conclude within two weeks.
• Both sides agree to the role of Egypt as sole arbitrator for the reconciliation process. Continue Reading »

The following appeared in Jordan Times.

By Daoud Kuttab

Whether the Jordanian government likes it or not, the Jordanian-Palestinian agreement and the mood of the people regarding Jerusalem require it to take a new look at the situation in the holy city.

Forty-six years ago Israel occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. Since then much has happened on the issue of Palestinian nationalism, the PLO and the emergence of the need for an independent Palestinian state. But while it is accepted that Palestinian statehood will take place on Palestinian soil (and not in Jordan as right-wing Israelis at one time wanted), the final status of Jerusalem has remained in doubt. Israel insists in no uncertain terms that the unified city of Jerusalem will continue to be part of Israel while Palestinians talk about East Jerusalem being the capital, and therefore part and parcel, of the independent state of Palestine. Continue Reading »