MIDDLE EAST:The fighting has divided the Palestinian territories politically as well as militarily and plays into Israel's hands, writes Michael Jansen
Arab foreign ministers began crisis talks in Cairo yesterday following the capture of the Gaza Strip by Hamas.
The Arabs are alarmed by the sudden collapse on Thursday of Fatah forces in Gaza and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's prompt dissolution of the unity government, imposition of martial law and appointment of Salam Fayyad, an independent, as prime minister in an emergency government.
The elevation of Dr Fayyad coincided with a call from unity government premier Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas for negotiations. He has rejected the dismissal of the unity cabinet and the appointment of Dr Fayyad.
During the fighting Hamas tried to keep the option of a deal with Mr Abbas open by declaring it was not fighting Fatah but a faction headed by Gaza's former preventive security chief Muhammad Dahlan, regarded by Hamas as an agent of Israel and the US.
But Mr Abbas has closed the door on accommodation. He cannot now reassert his authority in Gaza and elections are out of the question politically. Few Palestinians would accept a new parliamentary poll unless both Gaza and the West Bank take part, and Hamas, which won in 2006, will not agree. Furthermore, a deeply discredited Fatah could make an even poorer showing than it did 18 months ago.
Events in Gaza delivered a sharp blow to Egypt which was trying to end the fighting and bring about negotiations. Saudi Arabia has also suffered a loss of prestige.
The unity coalition between Hamas and Fatah was formed under the aegis of Saudi King Abdullah as the cornerstone of an assertive foreign policy independent of the US, the kingdom's traditional ally.
The unity government never functioned because the US and EU refused to work with it. Financial sanctions imposed in 2006 remained, preventing the flow of external funds to the Palestinian Authority, undermining its institutions, and impoverishing Palestinians.
The Arabs blame Israel and the Western powers for the failure of the unity government and Hamas's takeover of Gaza.
Suggestions that Egypt, the Arabs or the international community should deploy peacekeepers in Gaza have been dismissed, although Israel is pressing for an international force along the border between Gaza and Egypt. Jordan's King Abdullah has rejected calls to assume responsibility for Palestinian population centres in the West Bank.
The Arabs are convinced that the Hamas-Fatah split has finished off the Arab peace plan, proposed by Saudi Arabia, involving total Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian and Syrian territory occupied in 1967 in exchange for full normalisation of relations between the Arabs and Israel. Arab governments see the plan as the only possible solution to the 60-year-old Arab-Israel conflict. The Arabs argue that eliminating the promise of liberation for the Palestinians will fuel Muslim radicalism which already threatens to destabilise Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.
Video coverage of Hamas fighters parading captured US-backed and trained Fatah fighters and brandishing US-made weapons sent to Fatah have reawakened the feeling of pride some Arab citizens felt when Lebanon's Hizbullah fought Israel to a standstill last summer.
Although Syria and Iran, Hamas's backers, may take satisfaction from this scenario, most Palestinians and Arabs see Hamas's conquest of Gaza as a pyrrhic victory because it divides the Palestinian territories politically as well as geographically and makes it possible for Israel and its allies to solidify the split by propping up Mr Abbas and Fatah in the West Bank.