Palestinian unity on agenda as Hamas, Fatah leaders to meet in Moscow

Hamas and Fatah are expected to attend a meeting in Moscow to discuss the future governance of a Palestinian state.

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”.

“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.

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.