When dismissed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh called for a resumption of inter-Palestinian dialogue and the formation of a national unity government on Sunday, the invitation was rejected by Fatah in no uncertain terms. It would not, said Fatah officials, talk to "murderers". It is a stipulation, though, that Fatah leaders do not apply in their discussions with Israeli leaders or their cooperation with an Israeli occupying force that has murdered tens of thousands of Palestinians since 1947 and continues to kill Palestinians on a daily basis. If Fatah's determination to boycott and punish Hamas for taking control of Gaza two weeks ago was understandable in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, by now -- and in the interests of Palestinians everywhere -- it should have moved beyond its blanket refusal. Sadly, it has not. The problem, in a nutshell, is that factional considerations are now being placed above national ones. The thorny question of legitimacy, which has so far dominated post-Gaza discussions -- with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas enjoying the international community's support -- cannot become the basis upon which the future of the Palestinian question is determined. The debate, as it is now being conducted, is both futile and destructive. When Palestinians went to the polls in January 2006 and voted for Hamas in both Gaza and the West Bank they were choosing the path of resistance to the brutal Israeli occupation, and proclaiming their right to liberation and a meaningful Palestinian state. But no moves towards the latter can be made as long as time is being wasted and, more tragically, blood is being spilled, under the guise of factional legitimacy. As Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Authority officials met in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday afternoon, Israel was busy demolishing 20 Palestinian Bedouin houses in the Negev desert village of Um Al-Hiran to make room for a new Jewish settlement. As the factional contest over legitimacy continues so will the number of demolitions as Israel moves to ethnically cleanse the Negev of its 42,000 Palestinian population. The Israel that the world demanded Hamas recognize has no final borders and there's a reason why it doesn't. The 1967 Green line is far from enough for the Jewish state which envisions different borders that extend beyond what the international community already recognizes and involves further land grabbing in the West Bank. Nor do Israel's leaders have any intention of giving the Palestinians anything remotely related to a viable state. Isolating Gaza now under the pretext of punishing a 'terrorist' group, Hamas, only serves this very same Israeli project which will then leave the strip to Egypt. Despite diplomatic niceties and flexibility often demonstrated by Cairo towards Tel Aviv, Egypt has no intention of carrying the explosive burden of Gaza at any point in time. President Hosni Mubarak's wise call in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit to resume the Palestinian dialogue and end the boycott of Hamas should be taken seriously. The world can not make peace with only half the Palestinians (Fatah), he said, without involving the other half (Hamas). Is Abass listening?
