Fatah’s vice chairman to attend Haniyeh funeral in Qatar
A high-level delegation from Fatah, including its vice chairman Mahmoud al-Aloul, will attend the funeral procession for Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh today in Doha.
Hamas and Fatah, the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territory, have been bitter rivals since conflict arose in 2006, after which Hamas seized control of Gaza.
Last week, the two parties and 12 other Palestinian factions signed a “national unity” agreement in Beijing, China, aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over Gaza once Israel’s war on the enclave concludes. The agreement marked a key turning point in internal Palestinian relations.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, is also reported to have left Ramallah for Qatar with a delegation.
Palestinian factions show unity after Haniyeh assassination
A senior delegation from Fatah will be participating in Ismail Haniyeh’s funeral procession in Doha later today, including the movement’s number two, Mahmoud al-Aloul. That is in the context of widespread Palestinian condemnation of this political assassination.
Assassination is a longstanding Israeli policy, and it has touched and marked all Palestinian factions, including Fatah. So, all political differences are set aside for this moment of unity. This is expected and demanded from the Palestinian public, who are furious with this kind of targeting and who have been watching their fellow Palestinians slaughtered at an industrial scale for the past few months.
Having said that, looks could be deceiving in the occupied West Bank. You won’t see large-scale protests there most likely. You won’t see the kind of fury from the public that one expects.
But we have to keep in mind two things: First, Israel’s occupation has changed the dynamics of movement in the West Bank. Over 500 different checkpoints dissect and fragment the territory. Second, Israel is going after people for posting things online, including condolences over the death of people like Ismail Haniyeh or even fellow Palestinians they may be related to or friends with.
Israel ‘alarmed’ by signs of Palestinian unity
Israel’s government is likely paying close attention to who is attending the funeral ceremony of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and how they are interacting, especially members of Palestinian factions, says Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan.
The fact that most Palestinian political groups have sent at least one representative to the ceremony in Doha will be “alarming” to Israel, which has long attempted to keep them divided, he added.
“Israel has, when it comes to the Palestinians, a divide and rule policy. That’s why it was very instrumental in making sure that the occupied West Bank and Gaza never really became politically unified,” said Khan. “But things are now changing. They [Palestinian factions] are all going to be talking now.”
“What Israel doesn’t want to see is a unified Palestinian front,” he said.
Thousands pay respects to Haniyeh at Qatar national mosque
The Jummah (Friday) prayer has been performed in Doha’s Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque and the funeral prayer [for Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh] has just started. People are paying their final respects to the former political head of Hamas.
When this prayer is over, Haniyeh’s body, probably escorted by thousands and thousands of people now attending the prayer, will be taken to the Lusail royal cemetery north of Doha.
The security measures are extreme here because there are going to be dozens and dozens of state dignitaries from all around the world, particularly from Islamic countries. In addition, the leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Islamic Jihad, are going to be here … Haniyeh’s family is here, too, to pay their respects.
