Myth of Palestinian unity
Palestinian public epitomizes divided society shackled by factionalism
Moshe Elad Published: 07.28.09, 18:24 / Israel Opinion

A few days ago, official Egyptian sources rushed to announce that August 25th, 2009 will be “Palestinian Unity Day.” A reminder to those who forgot: Representatives of the various Palestinian factions have been in Cairo for long months (and maybe years,) alongside Egyptian mediators, but are having trouble signing a basic memorandum of understandings that would eventually prompt the formation of a “Palestinian national unity government.” The Egyptians, with American assistance, tried almost everything in order to secure this end result. American and European pressure was exerted on Israel on various issues, mostly in respect to the outposts and settlements; generous aid packages were promised, including a multi-million grant earmarked for “rehabilitating Gaza,” with an explicit obligation to provide an unprecedented sum of money to be deposited in a joint account…yet the prospect of a unity government keeps on distancing.

There is no doubt that the dramatic Egyptian announcement regarding the seeming “closing of ranks” within Palestinian society is mostly a desired outcome and expression of hope, or even a transparent media spin that aims to atone for longtime frustration, more than it is a fact or the realization of a vision. We should recall that representatives of the greatest Arab power, topped by Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, are perceived as a paper tiger in the Arab world. Their repeated failures to secure compromises between two marginal Arab groups, Fatah and Hamas, are met with a disparaging response. “What happened to the great Egypt?” the Arabs ask. “Can’t a lion facilitate reconciliation between two foxes?”

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