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What Is Really Blocking the Peace Process?

(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Today, it is clearer than ever that neither Hamas nor Fatah is interested in achieving unity - each for its own reasons. For Hamas, ending the dispute means the Islamist movement would have to cede exclusive control over Gaza - an area that has been turned into a semi-independent Islamic emirate over the past five years. For Fatah, unity with Hamas means paving the way for the Islamist movement to extend its control to the West Bank - something Abbas and his supporters are afraid of and cannot afford. Obama and the rest of the international community need to understand that the Palestinians already have two separate entities - with social, political and religious observance and ideologies that totally conflict. By the way, Fatah's public endorsement of the two-state solution does not necessarily mean it has abandoned the phased plan - namely, take whatever you can now and fight in the future to get the rest. Even if Mahmoud Abbas agrees to return to the negotiating table with Israel, it is obvious that any agreement he reaches will be automatically rejected by the radicals.
2013-02-20 00:00:00
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