Palestinian developments in 2013 (2)

Palestinian issue has witnessed bittersweet developments in 2013. Let's review top developments in the second quarter of 2013.

April:

- Leaders of Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas voted to appoint Khaled Mashaal as head of the group's political bureau for another four-year term. The leaders gathered in Cairo, Egypt on April 1.

- The then PA prime minister Salam Fayadh resigned from his post amid dispute with the PA Head, Mahmoud Abbas over the trend of policy making. Abbas accepted the resignation but asked him to remain in the post until a new cabinet is formed.

May:

- An Arab League delegation called committee to follow up peace initiative visited Washington to support a plan of land swap between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The project was visibly serving the Israeli occupiers.

- Arab League members staged a snap session to review the Zionist regime's escalated moves against the al-Aqsa Mosque.

- Hamas movement condemned the Fatah movement's acceptance of a land swap project and called it another free-of-charge concession by the Palestinian Authority to Israel.

- Zionist regime's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said any peace with Palestinians was subject to the Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the full security of Jewish population in the occupied Palestine.

June:

- The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in an annual report declared Israel as the poorest state in Europe, saying the regime's racial policies against Palestinians have largely contributed to the negative standing.

- Palestinian Authority head assigned the then Chancellor of the Palestinian Najah University, Rami Hamdallah to form a new PA cabinet. The elected Palestinian government in Gaza rejected the move as illegal. Hamdallah resigned from his post three weeks later, citing widespread corruption within the PA establishment.

- An international march was staged in solidarity with the occupied al-Quds ('Jerusalem') city. People in over 50 countries marched to condemn the Zionist regime's provocative moves against the historical, Muslim city. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza staged a similar march as well.

- Hassan Rowhani was elected eleventh president of the Islamic Republic after securing 51 percent of the votes. Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad congratulated the new president on his election and called for continued support by the Iranian government to the Palestinian issue. Many Palestinian figures too sent congratulatory messages to Iran.