Two analysts who spoke to Al-Quds believe that the convention between Palestinian factions in Egypt over the weekend was a "formality" that will not yield any changes to the impasse on national unity. 

Led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the meeting did not vastly differ from previous meetings in terms of content, and the final statement by the parties also echoed past attempts to secure an agreements. 

Abbas called for the establishment of a follow-up committee to discuss the issues raised in the meeting, which reportedly included demands from Abbas to limit the resistance to peaceful means that conform to "international legitimacy."

The leader of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh had called on Abbas on Sunday to end security cooperation with Israel and to release political prisoners that were detained in a recent crackdown by the Palestinian Authority.

Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - the General Command, the Ba'athist party As-Sa'iqa (the Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War - Lightning Forces) and the Fatah splinter group known as Fatah al-Intifada all boycotted the confab over the issue.

Despite the rare photo-op at the end of the meeting, political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim believes that "no real output" came from the long-awaited meeting. Ibrahim said that the briefing echoed another reconciliation attempt in September 2020 that also fizzled out. 

Political analyst Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, however, said that merely holding the meeting at this time warrants "cautious optimism," especially since the gap between Fatah and Hamas is "huge," especially over forms of resistance against Israel's occupation, and in light of the Palestinian Authority's quashing of resistance groups in the northern West Bank.

He also added that the Palestinian people have largely lost hope in such processes. 

The meeting of general secretaries was held on the coastal city of El Alamein on Sunday was the latest attempt to achieve intra-Palestinian unity in recent years.

Numerous attempts to end the split between Fatah and Hamas during the 2006 civil war in Gaza, where Hamas secured power in the Strip after winning the election the previous year, have failed.