Destructive disunity

As if the internecine wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon were not enough to cause pain and frustration to the Muslim world, the Palestinians too are embroiled in a bloody power tussle.
As they emerged over the weekend from their hard-fought duels, the three-month old Fatah-Hamas unity government was gone and the state of Palestine stood divided into two parts: Gaza Strip controlled by the followers of dismissed prime minister Ismail Haniya and West Bank under the control of President Mahmoud Abbas.
That these two entities are likely to retain their independent existence, at least for some time, is an alarming possibility. This is strongly indicated by the fact that while the Hamas has refused to accept the dismissal of their leader as prime minister, the president has sworn in Salaam Fayyad as the new prime minister.
The unity government had come into existence, after months of bickering between the two principal Palestinian factions, as a result of Mecca Accord brokered by the Saudis who happen to enjoy co-operative relations with both sides.
Naturally, the latest round of in-fighting, mainly centred on Gaza, has greatly disappointed the Saudi Arabia. Addressing the Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo on the day Hamas militants overwhelmed the Fatah strongholds in Gaza, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal lamented: "Today the Palestinians have come close to putting the last nail in the coffin of Palestine cause".
The Hamas gave a surprise to the world in 2006 by scoring a stunning electoral victory over the Fatah led by Mahmoud Abbas who had succeeded Yasser Arafat. But it was a shock to the West where the perception was that radical Islam formed only a small fringe in the Muslim societies and fair and free elections would push it to the sidelines. So when Ismail Haniya became prime minister the United States, European Union and other pro-Israel international entities applied sanctions squeezing foreign assistance. The worst affected were the 1.4 million residents of Gaza Strip, the bastion of Hamas power. As time passed the hungry and angry Gazans became restive, and a kind of power struggle ensued between the Fatah-manned security forces and Hamas-dominated local police. As tensions between them spiralled out of control President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Ismail Haniya, announced state of emergency and put in place an interim set-up with the task to hold elections. The Hamas militants rejected the presidential decree and expelled all those who could be linked to President Abbas and his Fatah group from the Gaza Strip. The struggle for the occupation of Gaza Strip was fierce and cost 117 lives.
The new Palestine government has been recognised by the international community. While the Quartet - US, UN, EU and Russia - have thrown their full weight behind the new government headed by Salaam Fayyad, apparently taking Ismail Haniya's dismissal as good riddance, the Muslim countries have not acted so rashly. The Hamas enjoys warm relations with Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and with significantly strong segments of populations in many other Muslim countries.
Then, there can be no denying the fact that it is the most popular political party in Palestine. In that backdrop the Arab League foreign ministers saw to it that the two main Palestinian political forces do not fork out on some irreversible course of action.
Therefore, when the Arab League foreign ministers gave their vote of confidence to President Mahmoud Abbas they expressed support to the Palestine parliament, which is dominated by the Hamas, and renewed the invitation to both the sides to return to Cairo reconciliation talks. At the end of the tunnel, there is still some light. Given their influence with both the Hamas and Fatah leaders, Saudi Arabia and Egypt should join hands to recreate unity among the people of Palestine - who have yet to go a long way to have a country of their own.