Russia hosts meeting of Palestinian factions in Moscow
Russia has invited Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow today.
The Palestinian territories are controlled in essence by three entities: the State of Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas. The PA largely controls in the West Bank while Hamas, before the Israel-Hamas war, ruled in the Gaza Strip. The PA and Hamas have long disagreed on tactics in pursuit of the shared goal of Palestinian liberation as well as recognition of Israeli sovereignty. Hamas has taken a militaristic approach accused by some, like Israel and its ally the US, of amounting to terrorism.
While representatives will attempt to unify all Palestinians against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, Russia is primarily interested in enhancing its international image as a regional power broker. Russia currently faces significant diplomatic isolation given its aggression toward Ukraine and likely seeks to encourage countries more hesitant to sever political and economic relations with it not to by demonstrating Russia’s ability to influence events in a resource-rich and particularly tumultuous region of the world. Russia is also likely attempting to counterbalance US and EU involvement in the Israel-Gaza war by showing sympathy for the prevalent Palestinian position on the conflict. Because of Russia’s self-interested motive, the likelihood of factional unity is low.
