Palestinian NGOs and trade unions representatives, politicians and academics emphasized the urgency to intensify efforts to end the internal split and combat its implications, underscoring that Palestinian people are paying the highest economic and social price for the internal split.
During a conference organized in Gaza, they called to activate the role of civil society organizations in the efforts to end the internal split and achieve national unity through initiatives, proposals, and lobbying to rebuild the Palestinian political system through building a social pattern based on partnership avoiding exclusions and dominance.
The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) organized a conference under the title of "Strengthening the Role of NGOs to Achieve National Unity Against the Political Division", in partnership with German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), with participation of political and community figures, Trade Union leaders, and human rights activists.
Director of the Palestinian NGO Network, Amjad Shawa, at the opening session, said that the conference held under unprecedented circumstances experienced by the Palestinian people due to the internal political split and the continued Israeli occupation violations at various levels.
Shawa stated that "PNGO continues its efforts to end the internal division, achieve national unity and complete the reconciliation to rectify the tragedy that afflicts the Palestinian people." He stressed the need to avoid surrendering to despair, but rather to work hard and exercise pressure on political decision makers to end the internal division.
Member of PNGO's Coordinating Body, Hala Jabr, said ''this conference is held as a part of the project of Strengthening the Role of NGOs to Achieve National Unity Against the Political Division, which is implemented in partnership with FES, and included series of workshops on the cost of the internal division on the economic, legal, social and health situation in the Gaza Strip.''
She added, the workshops were organized by PNGO with the participation of economists, experts, trade unionists, human rights activists, women activists, and NGOs representatives.
Jabr noted that the Palestinian people particularly the marginalized groups, pay the heaviest price for the internal political conflict.
Director of FES, Dr. Usama Antar, stated that ''the conference conveys a message which highlights desire to rescue the Palestinian national project and strengthen the steadfastness of our people and enable youth to live in dignity."
He emphasized the importance of the role of civil society to pressure for ending the internal division and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people who have been living in the most difficult and bitter reality in the history of the Palestinian people.
Coordinator of Monitoring and Studies Unit in the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity and (AMAN), Hedaya Shamoun, who chaired the first session of the conference, stressed on the need to rebuild the Palestinian society both individuals and institutions, and stressed the need to strengthen the elements of resilience to end the internal division, rebuild the political system, and restore the national unity, to rectify the tragedy that afflicts the Palestinian people.
Director of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Issam Younis, in his paper entitled "Risks of Internal Division on the National Unity and Social Fabric'', highlighted the impacts of the decade-long Palestinian internal split on the Palestinian identity and social fabric and the sustained damages.
He said, ''the greatest danger that threats the Palestinian people being is the fragmentation of the national identity in favor of enforcing sub-identities associated with the geographical area and social origins and other degrees of identity and belonging."
He explained that all that we have been witnessing establishes for the demise of the Palestinian nation and turns us from people uprooted from their land and always sought to maintain their identity to scattered groups here and there under different definitions and interests related to their reality and circumstances.
Younis called to shoulder the historical and national responsibilities and exert efforts to achieve reconciliation by forming a national front to pressure for ending the internal division.
Director of the Arab Center for Agricultural Development, Muhsen Abu Ramadan, in his paper entitled "Impacts of the Internal Division on Resilience Components" said, "the Palestinian NGOs face many challenges and difficulties that decrease their capacities and impede them from performing their tasks." He summarized the most prominent challenges and difficulties in the occupation practices, blockade of Gaza, aggression, fragmentation, land confiscation, acquisition of land and water resources and border control.
Abu Ramadan pointed out that the mentioned above main issues, negatively affected the reality of the Palestinian people and obstructed the holding of local elections in the Gaza Strip.
He explained that holding local elections just in the West Bank without Gaza Strip affected the ability of NGOs to activate the dynamics of accountability and participation, noting that the obstruction of holding elections in the Gaza Strip also included University Student Councils and many local unions.
Abu Ramadan pointed out that funding to Palestinian NGOs reduced by at least 60%, which impedes providing services for poor and marginalized groups and weakens their steadfastness, moreover, it forces thousands of university graduates to migrate, increases crimes and social imbalances such as thefts and cases of taking the law into own hands, and other incidents that increase social distress.
The political analyst, Tala Awkal, commenting on the papers presented in the first session, said "The Palestinian people currently experiencing a bitter reality due to the internal division which not only deepened the geographic division but also left impacts on the national identity and social fabric.
He explained that the internal division forced thousands of graduates to emigrate and led others to thinking about migration, as well as increased crime rates and social imbalances such as thefts and cases of taking the law into own hands, and other incidents that increase social distress.
The second session of the conference was chaired by Ahmad Ashour, the director of Tamer Institute for Community Education. The session dealt with the impacts of internal division on the reality of freedoms, human rights, and democracy.
Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Hamdi Shaqqoura, presented his paper entitled "Impacts of Internal Division on the Reality of Freedoms and Rights" where he stated that the Palestinian situation after ten years of internal division witnesses unprecedented deterioration in freedoms and human rights due to the implications of the internal split," adding "Human Rights will be respected only in a democratic atmosphere".
He pointed out that during the internal split, the authorities in Gaza Strip and West Bank managed to manipulate the law in a manner that violated the human rights in both areas.
Shaqqoura explained that the current Palestinian political scene is totally collapsed as the three executive, legislative and judicial authorities have been collapsed due to the dominance of the executive authorities in the absence of accountability caused by the division of judiciary and the absence of the role of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
He stressed that the only way out of the internal division lies in a comprehensive contract to be signed between the Palestinian factions to promote national unity.
Shaqqoura also stressed the importance of forming a popular front to pressure to accelerate the achievement of internal division and put the Palestinian house in order.
Professor of political science at Gaza's Al-Azhar University, Mukhaimer Abu Saada, in his paper entitled "The Cost of Internal Division on Democracy" stressed that there is a tragic decline in the democratic reality which stands out in elections, political participation, freedoms, women's rights and tolerance, due to the internal division which promoted the negative outlook on these issues.
He explained that holding elections is the only way to overcome all the outstanding issues in the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, no presidential, legislative, municipal or even trade unions elections have been held in the Gaza Strip since 2006, due to the internal division.
Abu Saada emphasized that the absence of PLC's role and presidential decrees and restrictions imposed on freedoms of opinion and expression in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, not to mention the recent presidential decree to reduce the salaries of the PA employees in the Gaza Strip and the early retirement, made the social and economic situation more complex.
He explained that all the options to ease burden on Gaza, must be carried out within the national unity efforts to end the internal division away from partial solutions, in order to form a national unity government and prepare for elections.
Director of the Community Media Center, Andaleeb Adwan, commented on the papers presented in the conference said, the essence of democracy lies in the idea of expanding the scope and area of participation as many segments of the society and social groups participate in decision-making process and consolidate the principles of equality, rule of law, separation of powers, judiciary, parliament and governance, and the extent of the available space for the freedom of the press.