Palestinian Cairo Declaration

Last updated

The Palestinian Cairo Declaration was a declaration signed on 19 March 2005 by twelve Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). [1] The Cairo Declaration affirmed the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people [1] through the participation in it of all forces and factions according to democratic principles. The Declaration implied a reform of the PLO by the inclusion in the PLO of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Contents

The signatories included Fatah, headed by Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, headed by Khalid Mash'al. [1]

Background

Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority, died on 11 November 2004. The Palestinian presidential election to fill the position took place on 9 January 2005 in both the West Bank and Gaza, but were boycotted by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. [2] [3] The election resulted in PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas being elected President to a four-year term.

On 16 February 2005, the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) approved the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, which would have drastically changed Israeli–Palestinian relations in Gaza.

The Cairo Declaration, signed on 19 March 2005 at the end of a 3-days meeting in Cairo, was an early conciliation[ clarification needed ] attempt with the aim to unite the Palestinian factions against the Israeli occupation, restructure the PLO and avoid further violent interactions[ clarification needed ] between the Palestinian groups.

The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was unilaterally completed by 12 September 2005.

Details

The Declaration contains 6 points: [4]

  1. it recalled the "right of the Palestinian people to resistance in order to end the occupation", the right to establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the Palestinian right of return.
  2. it advocated the continuation of the Palestinian "atmosphere of calm in return for Israel's adherence to stopping all forms of aggression" against Palestinian land and people.
  3. it warned against the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Judaization of Jerusalem.
  4. it observed the necessity of completing the reform of Palestinian matters, including democracy, local and legislative elections and the introduction of an election system on the basis of proportional representation.
  5. it stated that the parties agreed to reform the PLO "in order to include all the Palestinian powers and factions, as the organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". A committee would be made up to define the bases for the development.
  6. it emphasized "that dialogue is the sole means of interaction among all the factions, as a support to national unity and the unity of the Palestinian ranks". The use of weapons in internal disputes should be forbidden.

Aftermath

The Palestinian legislative election took place on 25 January 2006, and resulted in a Hamas victory. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya formed a new PA government on 29 March 2006 comprising mostly Hamas members, after Fatah and other factions refused to join. Hamas continued not to recognize Israel and earlier agreements, leading to a substantial part of the international community, especially Israel, the United States and European countries, not to deal with the Hamas government and imposed sanctions. Following the abduction by Hamas militants of Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006 in a cross-border raid via a tunnel out of Gaza, Israel detained nearly a quarter of PLC members and ministers on the West Bank during August 2006 and intensified the boycott of Gaza and other punitive measures. [5] [6] [7] The Palestinian Prisoners' Document (also known as the Palestinian National Conciliation Document) dated 28 June 2006 urged the implementation of the Cairo Declaration. [8]

Calls for the implementation of the Cairo Declaration, the formation of a unity government and the cessation of violence between Fatah and Hamas were made in the Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement of 8 February 2007. The Hamas government was replaced on 17 March 2007 by a national unity government headed by Haniya comprising Hamas and Fatah ministers.

In June 2007, after the Hamas takeover of Gaza, when Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip and removed all Fatah officials, [9] President Abbas, on 14 June, declared a state of emergency by Presidential decree, and dismissed Haniyeh's national unity government, and appointed an emergency government and suspended articles of the Basic Law, to circumvent the needed PNC approval. [10] [11] [12] [13]

President Abbas threatened on 18 July 2007 to cancel the Cairo Declaration, which would have had the effect of expelling Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the PLO. The PFLP and the DFLP urged Abbas not to annul the Declaration. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatah</span> Palestinian nationalist political party

Fatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, is the chairman of Fatah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine Liberation Organization</span> Palestinian militant and political organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian government</span> Government in State of Palestine

The Palestinian government is the government of the Palestinian Authority or State of Palestine. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (EC) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and acts as the government. Since June 2007, there have been two separate administrations in Palestine, one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip. The government on the West Bank was generally recognized as the Palestinian Authority Government. On the other hand, the government in the Gaza Strip claimed to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority. Until June 2014, when the Palestinian Unity Government was formed, the government in the West Bank was the Fatah-dominated Palestinian government of 2013. In the Gaza Strip, the government was the Hamas government of 2012. Following two Fatah–Hamas Agreements in 2014, on 25 September 2014 Hamas agreed to let the PA Government resume control over the Gaza Strip and its border crossings with Egypt and Israel, but that agreement had broken down by June 2015, after Pesident Abbas said the PA government was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian National and Islamic Forces</span> Military and political Palestinian coalition

The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces is a coalition formed shortly after the outbreak of the second Intifada with the authorization of Yasser Arafat and led by Marwan Barghouti. The coalition coordinates the agenda of its members and helps plan and execute joint political actions against Israel. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group enjoyed significant influence during the second intifada, but since the election of Mahmoud Abbas in 2005 it has been less active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian Prisoners' Document</span> 2006 document by Palestinian prisoners

The Prisoners' Document, officially the National Conciliation Document of the Prisoners was written in May 2006 by Palestinian prisoners, who were being held in an Israeli jail. The five prisoners who took part in writing the Document were respectively affiliated with Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatah–Hamas conflict</span> Palestinian factional conflict since 2006

The Fatah–Hamas conflict is an ongoing political and strategic conflict between Fatah and Hamas, the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territories, leading to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The reconciliation process and unification of Hamas and Fatah administrations remains unfinalized and the situation is deemed a frozen conflict.

The Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement was signed between Fatah and Hamas in the city of Mecca on 8 February 2007, agreeing to stop the internal military confrontations in the Gaza Strip and form a government of national unity. Representatives from the Fatah side included the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and parliament member Mohammed Dahlan. The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and Khaled Mashal represented Hamas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Haniyeh Government</span> Palestinian Authority unity government

The Second Haniyeh Government, also known as the Palestinian National Unity Government of March 2007, was a Palestinian Authority unity government headed by Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority that was formed on 17 March 2007 and dissolved on 14 June 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Palestinian legislative election</span> Future elections in Palestine

The next Palestinian legislative election was scheduled for 22 May 2021, according to a decree by President Mahmoud Abbas on 15 January 2021, but was indefinitely postponed on 29 April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governance of the Gaza Strip</span> Political situation in the Palestinian territory of Gaza since the 2007 takeover by Hamas

The governance of the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 has been carried out by Hamas. The Hamas government in Gaza was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. As of November 2023, Yahya Sinwar continues to be the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas control of the northern part of the Gaza Strip came to an end in January 2024, according to Israeli government statements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Palestinian legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in the Palestinian territories on 25 January 2006 in order to elect the second Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The result was a victory for the Islamist organization Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% of the vote and won 45 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine</span> Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization, the largest being Fatah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian Legislative Council</span> Unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It currently comprises 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts of the Palestinian Authority. The PLC has a quorum requirement of two-thirds, and since 2006 Hamas and Hamas-affiliated members have held 74 of the 132 seats in the PLC. The PLC's activities were suspended in 2007 and remained so as of November 2023, while PLC committees continue working at a low rate and parliamentary panel discussions are still occurring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine</span> Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and Maoist organization. It is also frequently referred to as the Democratic Front, or al-Jabha al-Dīmūqrāṭiyya. It is a member organization of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Alliance of Palestinian Forces and the Democratic Alliance List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gaza (2007)</span> Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip from Fatah

The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Fatah and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip from 10 to 15 June 2007. It was a prominent event in the Fatah–Hamas conflict, centered on the struggle for power after Fatah lost the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. The battle resulted in the dissolution of the unity government and the de facto division of the Palestinian territories into two entities: the West Bank governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and the Gaza Strip governed by Hamas. Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah officials were either taken as prisoners, executed, or expelled. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that at least 161 people were killed and more than 700 were wounded during the fighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ismail Haniyeh</span> Palestinian politician, chairman of Hamas political bureau (born 1962)

Ismail Haniyeh is a Palestinian politician who is a senior political leader of Hamas, the current chairman of Hamas’s political bureau; as of 2023, Haniyeh lives in Qatar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatah–Hamas reconciliation process</span> Political initiative in Palestine

A series of attempts to resolve the hostility between Fatah and Hamas have been made since their 2006–2007 conflict and Hamas' subsequent takeover of the Gaza Strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Hamdallah Government</span> Palestinian national unity government formed 2014

The Palestinian Unity Government of June 2014 was a national unity government of the Palestinian National Authority under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed on 2 June 2014 following the Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Agreement that had been signed on 23 April 2014. The ministers were nominally independent, but overwhelmingly seen as loyal to President Abbas and his Fatah movement or to smaller leftist factions, none of whom were believed to have close ties to Hamas. However, the Unity Government was not approved by the Legislative Council, leading to its legitimacy being questioned. The Unity Government dissolved on 17 June 2015 after President Abbas said it was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.

The Alliance of Palestinian Forces is a Damascus-based loose political alliance of eight Palestinian organizations. The Alliance was created in Damascus in December 1993 by ten Palestinian factions opposed to the negotiations that led up to the Oslo Accords. Amongst the ten founding members all but Hamas were headquartered in Damascus. Eight of the founding members were previously members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the other two being Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Palestinian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, announced on 23 June 2016 a decision to hold municipal elections on 8 October 2016. The elections were suspended by the Palestinian Court in early September and in January 2017 they were set to 13 May 2017. They were expected to be the first elections in all of the Palestinian territories since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, as Hamas agreed to participate in the local elections and allow them to be held in the Gaza Strip but disagreements between Hamas and Fatah led to Hamas boycotting stating it will participate only after "ending disagreements, achieving reconciliation, and uniting Palestinian institutions, including at the political, judicial, and security levels". The elections were later slated to be held in West Bank in May 2017 and were postponed in Gaza Strip.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 PFLP and DFLP urge Abbas to preserve the Cairo declaration, honour the call for PLO reform. Ma'an News Agency, 20 July 2007
  2. ↑ 2005: Abbas triumphs in Palestinian elections. BBC, 9 January 2005
  3. ↑ Abbas declared victor in Palestinian election. CNN, 11 January 2005
  4. ↑ Text of the Palestinian 2005 Cairo Declaration, 19 March 2005
  5. ↑ Palestinian Legislative Council Members Archived 2013-04-12 at the Wayback Machine . Addameer, 2013
  6. ↑ Palestinian MK demands release of PLC members; reinstatement of Jerusalem ID Archived 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine . Ma'an News Agency, 12 September 2008
  7. ↑ 25% of Palestinian MPs detained by Israel. Conal Urquhart, Guardian, 21 August 2006
  8. ↑ Letter dated 7 July 2006 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General. UNSC, 10 July 2006 (A/ES-10/345)
    ″To speed up efforts to achieve that which was agreed on in Cairo in March 2005 pertaining to the development and reactivation of the PLO and the participation of all forces and factions to it according to democratic principles that reinforce the status of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people wherever they are in a manner that meets with the changes on the Palestinian arena and in a manner that consolidates the authority of the PLO to assume its responsibilities in leading our people in the homeland and the Diaspora.″
  9. ↑ Black, Ian; Tran, Mark (15 June 2007). "Hamas takes control of Gaza". Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  10. ↑ Presidential Decrees Issued on June - July 2007. JMCC, archived on 12 October 2007
  11. ↑ "Abbas Dissolves Palestinian Authority Government in Wake of Hamas-Fatah War". Fox News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  12. ↑ Levinson, Charles; Matthew Moore (14 June 2007). "Abbas declares state of emergency in Gaza". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "Abbas sacks Hamas-led government". BBC News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.