Fatah’s new logo has essentially erased Israel from the map.

The image, created in honour of the party’s 48th anniversary, was launched on Monday in the official Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and shows a Palestinian keffiyeh covering the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

Also featured are a white dove in chains, the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, and a key meant to represent the disputed “right of return” for displaced Palestinians and their descendents. In Arabic, the words “the state and victory” are present, as is the highly symbolic number 48.

For many Palestinians, 48 represents 1948, the year of the nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, when the state of Israel was created.

The unveiling of the logo came just days before Mr Abbas vowed to have Hamas renounce violence and recognise Israel before any Palestinian unity deal was arranged.

Ido Zelkovitz, an expert on Fatah at Haifa University, told The Times of Israel that Fatah’s new logo might be part of an effort to win the hearts and minds of its constituency.

“Armed struggle is an integral part of Fatah’s founding ethos,” Mr Zelkovitz said. “The message is: if goals can’t be achieved through negotiations, the military option is always there… For Fatah, remaining weaponless is having no identity.”