Day: February 29, 2024

Representatives from Palestinian political factions, including Hamas and Fatah, are expected to meet in the Russian capital, Moscow, to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government amid Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 people.

Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said on Thursday that while there was a lot of “uncertainty” about the meeting, it is expected to last three days for the factions to develop a “unified strategy”.

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“Russia has previously held similar meetings, so we know that this time around, this is the fourth meeting of its kind, and obviously they [will] try to help to achieve reconciliation between all these Palestinian factions,” Shapovalova said.

Speaking from Moscow, Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that he had “never seen the atmosphere so close to unity as it is today… because people feel the responsibility after all these massacres that our people have been subjected to”.

Barghouti told Al Jazeera that the talks would focus on future national consensus government, which would “[devote] its attention and its work mainly to alleviate this terrible suffering in Gaza” and prevent “Israeli effrts to enforce ethnic cleansing on the people of Gaza”.

“There is a general feeling of responsibility here,” said Barghouti. “We are not talking about something that will end in two days, we are talking about an initiation of a process that hopefully will lead eventually to complete unity within the ranks of a unified Palestinian leadership.”

Ahead of the meeting, Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs Riad Malki said on Wednesday that he did not expect “miracles” from the meeting.

“We hope that there might be good results in terms of mutual understanding between all factions about the need to support such a technocratic government that will emerge,” Malki said.

“Of course, we don’t expect miracles to happen in just a simple meeting in Moscow, but I believe that the meeting in Moscow should be followed by other meetings in the region soon.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Munich, Germany, on February 19, 2024 [Anna NNA Szilagyi/EPA]

Government resignation

The meeting comes days after Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the resignation of his government, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank. He gave the escalating violence in the occupied territory and the war in Gaza as the reasons behind his resignation.

“I see that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the new reality in Gaza and the need for a Palestinian-Palestinian consensus based on Palestinian unity and the extension of unity of authority over the land of Palestine,” he said on Monday.

Shtayyeh, who will stay in his position as a caretaker until a new prime minister is announced, said the new administration would need to take into account the emerging reality in Gaza after five months of intense Israeli bombardments.

But his resignation signalled a shift that underlines President Mahmoud Abbas’s desire to ensure the PA maintains its claim to leadership as international pressure grows for a revival of efforts to create a Palestinian state.

However, the PA, created 30 years ago as part of the Oslo Peace Accords, has suffered widespread criticism about its effectiveness, with its leaders having little practical power. It is deeply unpopular among Palestinians.

But Malki, who spoke on the sidelines of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, said the government’s resignation had been designed to prevent international partners from saying that the PA was not collaborating.

“We want to show our readiness … to engage and to be ready, just to not to be seen as an obstacle between the implementation of any process that should take further,” he said.

Israel has previously said it would not accept the PA to rule over Gaza after the war and promised to “destroy” Hamas after its October 7 attack, which killed 1,139 Israelis.

In the five months of the war, about 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s response to the attack, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported.

VLADIMIR Putin looked pale and sickly as he rambled on for more than two hours in front of a rigid audience, a body language analyst has said.

Professor Erik Bucy told The Sun that the raging tyrant “limped” up to the podium before straining to present a “strongman saviour” front to his glazed listeners.

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Putin delivered a ridiculous two-hour speech in Russia today where he threatened the West with nuclear powerCredit: Reuters

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His vast audience wore glazed expressions and even drifted off during the address

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Mad Vlad today gave a disturbing annual state of the nation address and warned the West about Russia’s nuclear power.

The 71-year-old dictator said consequences for “potential invaders” would be “tragic”, and threatened the “danger of nuclear conflict”.

He bragged about Russia’s Satan-2 nuclear rocket and said the West could be destroyed on its “own territory”.

The long and tedious speech comes ahead of the country’s bogus elections, where he is undoubtedly set to secure another term as dictator.

Dwarfed by enormous staging and hidden behind his podium, Professor Bucy told The Sun today’s speech was Putin’s weak attempt to come across as the “strongman”, and “lone saviour” of Russia.

Instead he appears isolated, and sickly as he limps up to the podium.

Over the next two hours, Bucy says, he consistently shifts his weight from one foot to the other, without ever stepping away from the podium.

His face appears “puffy and pale” and he is “not the portrait of health”.

Professor Bucy said: “Interestingly, Putin walked out to the podium on his own, but the camera shot was set back so you could not see his gait close up.

“It appeared that he was favoring one leg and walking with a slight limp. He doesn’t ever step away from the podium and none of his body behind the stand is visible for anyone to see.

“But he does appear to shift his weight from one side to the other, sharing the strain on his legs to hold himself up.”

The isolated position on the stage, Bucy explains, is an attempt to paint him as “the sole political voice of the nation, alone on a vast stage, communicating the only official view of the nation allowed”.

Throughout the gruelling address – countless Russian elites sit stock-still with frosted expressions or smile blandly and clap when expected.

His obviously staged audience serves to solidify any warped perceptions of being the voice and saviour of Russia.

Professor Bucy told The Sun: “On occasion throughout the speech, muted applause fills the arena in response to Putin’s statements.

“The tone is polite and deferential, as if the audience was coached on what level their applause should be.

“This orchestrated, group response is the only form of reaction the audience engages in.”

Putin, he said, also looks down frequently at his speech, which is “rife with disinformation designed to vilify the west while justifying his regime’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine”.

“Putin speaks at a rapid clip, shooting out words so as to maintain a sense of urgency.

“The faster he speaks, the more in command of the situation he tries to position himself—and the less time there is for the hand-picked audience to reflect on or question what he is saying.”

“Those in attendance are noticeably careful not to show any disapproving or negative facial expressions in response to what’s said.

“Even the raising of an eyebrow could be construed as an anti-Putin gesture and isn’t worth the risk.”

And the vast stadium-like set up for the address serves to send a message about “Putin’s sole importance as the head of government and the vast distance between himself and anyone else”.

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Hundreds of Russians were gathered to obediently listen to his speech today

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Putin half-hobbled onto the stage with a ‘limp’ before beginning his ridiculous speechCredit: Reuters

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The Russian elites who came to hear him speak barely reacted during the two-hour address

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He was dwarfed on stage but the lavish set-up