External and endogenous factors to prolong division

There is hardly a statement issued by a Palestinian political faction, body, or institution that does not stress the need to "end the file of division and restore national unity". The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are convinced of this entitlement and work for it day and night. If this is the case in terms of people unanimously agreeing on this demand, and all of them agreeing on the importance of unity in confronting Israeli challenges, dangers and aggressive policies, then who is obstructing unity and impeding the implementation of agreements then?

First, it is necessary to exclude the sharp and extremist interpretations that some extremists on both sides use to justify the state of estrangement, such as claiming that there are two approaches that cannot meet, which are the approach of resistance, struggle and constants on the one hand, and the approach of bargaining, surrender and security coordination on the other hand, which is matched by the logic of accusing the opponent of acting according to International and regional agendas are not in the interest of our people, because the owners of this logic are the same ones who back down from it in national meetings and dialogues, and sign more agreements. Some of them are even enthusiastic about talking about the necessities of partnership, which sometimes reach the willingness to form unified lists to run in elections.

We exclude these "exclusionary" interpretations for several reasons, including objective reasons and the size of common denominators among all Palestinian forces on the one hand, and the diagnosis of the main contradiction with the occupation that takes precedence over all secondary contradictions and discrepancies. In the concrete analysis, we will find that the resistance and security coordination in its various forms exist on both sides of the barricade, so no party can claim to be the exclusive agent of the resistance, nor accuse the opponent and absolve oneself of security coordination. The overlap and complexity of internal national and social topics and issues produces a very wide range of attitudes that are subject to continuous change.

It remains for us, then, to search for the real reasons that prompted the prolongation of the division and its perpetuation to the extent that some have come to believe that the division has turned into a permanent separation that has political, legal, administrative and social manifestations. Rather, we have read in the literature of some writers and factions calls for adopting a kind of federalism between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Gaza, and we do not exaggerate if we go to the fact that some reconciliation agreements adopted something like this without declaring it explicitly.

One of the most important reasons that contributed to perpetuating the division is the international and regional interventions, the most prominent and dangerous of which is of course the Israeli interventions, as Israeli officials did not hide in their statements and behavior their support for the division, which Benjamin Netanyahu said represents an "Israeli strategic interest". The division weakens the representativeness of any Palestinian leadership, and thus helps Israel to evade any political entitlements, and encourages it to deal with the Palestinians as dispersed communities, each with its own life demands: crossings, checkpoints, permits, entry of supplies and construction materials, water, electricity, fuel, space. Fishing, the movement of police and security forces between the governorates of the West Bank, and other issues instead of being a unified people with its major issues that unite in the struggle for it, such as the issues of Jerusalem, the return of refugees, confronting settlements, and ending the occupation.

Israel's interventions in fueling and prolonging the division were not limited to statements and evasion of political entitlements, but rather included programming military attacks in line with this goal, imposing a series of sanctions on the Authority and withholding Palestinian funds when forming a national unity government.

There have also been many international interventions to encourage division, including setting impossible conditions (such as those of the Quartet) that demand factions to change their positions, which leads to weakening the chances of forming a national unity government without which ending the division has no meaning. It was possible to understand the demands of these parties on the Palestinian government to adhere to specific principles. As for the demand of a particular faction to change its program, this is a gratuitous adoption of the Israeli conditions aimed at impeding Palestinian unity. These international parties did not interfere in any way with the programs of the Israeli parties participating in the current government, which adopt blatant racist and fascist positions. It reaches the point of adopting the transfer option and denying the existence of the Palestinian people, as well as denying their national rights. It did not object to the coalition agreements between the components of this government, which contradict international laws and covenants, and contradict all agreements signed by the governments of Israel.

All external factors cannot influence to prolong the period of division, without the presence of internal factors that receive them. At the forefront of these factors is the persistence of illusions that something can be achieved under the current circumstances (that is, in the presence of extremist Israeli governments that are totally supported by the United States). We hear this opinion in various expressions such as "finding a political horizon" or exploring this horizon or searching for it as if it is lost! This logic is like waiting for a miracle from heaven, as if the world, along with America and Europe, is convinced of the relevance and legitimacy of our demands, and therefore those who hold this opinion do not see an urgent need to rearrange our internal conditions, and activate marginalized elements of power in a way that can improve the balance of power in our favour.

Perhaps the developments of the last two years and the arrival of the extreme right to power in Israel have led to a decline in illusions that we can achieve something in our favor in light of these balances. Here, the subjective factors most influential in prolonging and perpetuating the division are present, which are the interests that have arisen, grown, and intensified over the years, and the matter is not limited to direct material and economic interests, but also includes the interests of influence, acquired positions, and monopolization in governance. These interests open the door wide to all forms of corruption and tyranny, with which national partnership and the activation of popular control tools become a burden on rulers and officials.

The stakeholders in the continuation of the division may be a minority in relation to the people, but it is an influential and decisive minority, and it is capable of inventing daily reasons to prolong the division unless it is confronted with continuous popular pressure to end this outrageous situation.