THE Palestinian issue has reached a crossroads as calls increase for Palestinian-Israeli dialogue and approval for the establishment of two states. Pressure is increasing on Israel, as are calls for the freezing of settlement building, while international circles express the wish to give impetus to the peace process as backed by America, Europe and the UN. The Palestinian issue itself has entered a new phase, one of Palestinian reconciliation, after the Damascus meeting between officials from Fatah and Hamas which tried to bring a chink of light to resolving Palestinian differences under a single Palestinian roof. For there are deep and fundamental differences that cannot be resolved in a single meeting that does not address the political issues and problems between Fatah and Hamas. Palestinian reconciliation has become an urgent requirement, given the lack of any general direction in the Palestinian issue and in Palestinian identity itself, in order to give national interests a priority above all others and put aside wrangles and divisions. This requires a united front across a single Palestinian board to form the strongest response to inflexible and intransigent Israeli positions. The delicate phase through which the Arab-Israeli conflict is passing makes Palestinian reconciliation all the more important – irrespective of the ephemeral interests of one group or another – in the name of the greater Palestinian cause. Will Palestinian reconciliation be achieved? This is what everyone is hoping for, in order for the peace process to be pushed ahead. __
