MIDDLE EAST:Despite the bitterness between Palestinian factions there is an understanding of the need for talks and reconciliation, Michael Jansenreports from Ramallah
The political rift between the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza, is deepening although both sides acknowledge they need to reconcile, work in tandem to improve the lives of Palestinians, and stick together in the struggle for self-determination. This may take time, which Palestinians can ill afford. Ramallah remains in shock over its military defeat in Gaza, continues to exhibit considerable animus towards Gaza, and is under heavy pressure from the US to isolate and sanction Hamas.
President Mahmoud Abbas is understood to feel betrayed by Hamas because, before its takeover of Gaza he personally championed the movement's participation in the political process and government despite opposition from Fatah and the US. He carried on a dialogue with Hamas, encouraged it to field candidates in elections, and agreed to a national unity coalition.
He is understood to believe Hamas responded by staging a coup, mounting a comprehensive onslaught on the Palestinian Authority's system of governance and seizing power in Gaza. Unable to deal militarily with the coup, he insists that Hamas must retreat. Until it does, he will act unilaterally.
So far he has dismissed the Hamas-led coalition and appointed independent Salam Fayyad to head up an emergency cabinet which was enlarged and sworn in a second time on Saturday as an interim government to serve for an indefinite period. Mr Abbas is also consulting the Palestine Liberation Organisation's unelected central council rather than the elected legislature, solidifying the gulf between Ramallah and Gaza.
Any dialogue between the groups will have to be based on an understanding that neither side will try to oust the other and that Fatah will clean its house of corrupt elements that precipitated last month's fighting. The goal of such negotiations would be a new government of technocrats which would exclude both Hamas and Fatah, operating on the basis of transparency and accountability, and integrating Hamas units into national police and security forces.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of parliament, reformer and human rights campaigner, blames Fatah, which dominated the Palestinian scene for 38 years, for misrule and corruption and for refusing to recognise its defeat in the 2006 parliamentary election.
But Hamas's resort to military means was "totally unacceptable. Fatah violated the values of the Palestinian cause. Hamas violated the integrity of the Palestinian cause. Fatah did not know how to relinquish power and Hamas did not know how to use power," she argues.
"We have lost the rule of law, lost democracy . . . A tolerant pluralist system" has been defeated by "an ideological movement which seeks to transform Palestinian society . . . Palestinians are not keen on an Islamic state in Palestine."
She says that beneath the calm surface in Gaza, there is violence and intimidation. Both Hamas and Fatah are more interested "in sharing the spoils" of office than in providing good governance.
Dr Ashrawi condemns Israel, the US and the EU for refusing to accept Hamas's victory and argues that boycott and sanctions inflicted undeserved punishments on Palestinians, weakened the Palestinian Authority and precipitated the events in Gaza.
Hamas "benefited" and was strengthened by popular protest against this policy and a desire for revenge, while Mr Abbas lost credibility by being associated with it. US and Israeli support for him is the "kiss of death", she says. Salam Fayyad is "an honest, brave prime minister. He has assumed a thankless task. If he is to succeed, the Israelis have to take serious actions and the US has to re-engage. Israel has wreaked havoc in the Palestinian territories while there has been no peace and no accountability."
She argues that the issue is not what Israel "gives" in terms of confidence- building measures but what it stops doing. "It must stop violence and human rights abuses against Palestinians and end the illegal and oppressive occupation."
Palestinians are adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards the Lisbon meeting on July 19th of the Quartet, comprising the US, UN, EU and Russia. Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who has been appointed the Quartet's envoy, is expected to attend this gathering and to arrive here next week.
However, his terms of reference continue to be disputed. While he apparently insists he should play a role in political negotiations, Daniel Fried, assistant to the US secretary of state, has stated that Mr Blair will be confined to helping the Fayyad government establish the "capabilities and institutions of a real state".
Mr Fried called this the "best government in Palestinian history" and ruled out "contacts with Hamas".
Palestinian analysts argue that the US attitude is certain to prolong the rift between Fatah and Hamas, which they say, will have to be mended eventually. The EU, they say, which does have contacts with Hamas, could assist in the reconciliation process.