Palestine: A nation divided
We speak to Fatah and Hamas and ask them about the prospects of Palestinian unity.
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| The relations between Hamas and Fatah have been deteriorating for years [AFP] |
Relations between the two main Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, have been deteriorating for years.
The feud culminated in open warfare between the two sides in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and Hamas’ subsequent takeover there.
Palestinian sources report that more than 600 people were killed in the fighting between the Palestinian elections of January 2006 and last summer.
Since then the fighting has subsided, but the wounds continue to fester. Palestinians in the Strip have become further cut off from their countrymen in the West Bank – and the rest of the world – at a time when the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “the worst since Israel occupied the territory in 1967,” according to Amnesty International.
The Arab League is endorsing a Yemeni initiative that calls for early elections and other steps to force the two parties to cooperate.
On Tuesday Riz speaks with leaders from both sides to see what the prospects for Palestinian unity are. Nimr Hammad is the political adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
And Ghazi Hamad was the spokesman for Ismail Haniya, the former Hamas leader and deposed prime minister.
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This episode of Riz Khan aired on Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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