Invitation to Hamas Moscow offers talks to unite Palestinians

Palestinian factions have been invited to meet in Moscow since western powers have rejected suggestions that Hamas could have a role in governing Gaza at the end of the war, saying only that they recognised that Palestinian militancy would still exist.

- Patrick Wintour

Speculation that a weakened Hamas might be willing to form a partnership with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, and govern Gaza and the West Bank jointly, have been revived by a Russian invitation for Palestinian groups to meet in Moscow on 26 February.

The news of the meeting was confirmed by the Palestinian Authority's prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, at the Munich security conference. "We are ready to engage. If Hamas is not, then that's a different story. We need Palestinian unity," he said, adding that Hamas, however, needed to meet certain prerequisites.

But French officials said they did not want Hamas in its current form to get a role in governing Palestine given the attacks on 7 October 2023.

Britain wants to see the Hamas military dismantled so it no longer poses a threat to Israel, and for its leadership to go into exile; the UK prefers a technocratic leadership inside a demilitarised governing authority to take charge pending elections.