Little progress towards national unity has been made though the Palestinians need it now more than ever, writes Ibrahim Nafie Egypt is working tirelessly to help the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority (PA) get over their current crisis and present the world with a united front. Unity among the Palestinians is crucial, for it would pave the way for the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Unfortunately, developments in the Palestinian territories are distressful to say the least. As the international boycott of the Palestinians continues, the lack of funding is stifling the government. Since Hamas took over in February, major powers took measures to blockade it. And Israel is no longer transferring tax returns due to the PA, estimated at over $50 million a month. To make things worse, the funds promised by Arab countries and institutions to the Palestinians haven't reached the PA as a result of banking regulations imposed by the US. Meanwhile, Western donor countries decided to provide funds solely through the PA presidency, a matter that strained relations between the president and the government. Running the government apparatus is supposed to be the job of the government, not the president, Hamas points out. As a result, the government couldn't pay the salaries of over 140,000 employees, and all reconstruction and development efforts have come to a halt. The obvious solution to this problem is for all Palestinian factions to form a government of national unity. The formation of such government would help break the international boycott and allow assistance to go once again through the usual channels. Palestinian factions have already expressed willingness to participate. They also said they would back a government of technocrats. The matter has been discussed repeatedly at talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. We've heard Abbas say repeatedly that a deal on the formation of the new government was expected at any moment. But each time the president says that, the prime minister contradicts him, and the situation goes back to square one. We obviously have a problem here. The problem is that Fatah and Hamas have irreconcilably different programmes. Hamas doesn't want to recognise the legitimacy of the Oslo Accords, although the elections that brought the movement to power were within the framework of those accords. Hamas is averse to changing its programme, in which it commits itself as a resistance movement to the liberation of all of Palestine, from the river to the sea. The refusal of Hamas to recognise Oslo has provided the Israelis with an excuse to claim that the Palestinians were not serious as peace partners, and to proceed with their own one-sided solutions. Fatah and the other Palestinian factions -- apart from Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- want to end the international boycott and resume negotiations. They are willing to participate in a Hamas-led government so long as the programme of that government is acceptable to all of them. Numerous meetings between Abbas and Haniyeh have failed to break the deadlock. Haniyeh still sets terms that exceed the powers of the president. Recently, Hamas said that all its members in Israel's custody must be released before a new government is formed. Israel has detained several Hamas ministers and parliamentarians, including parliament speaker Aziz Al-Duweik. It is in the interest of the Palestinian people that all factions agree on a government of national unity. The formation of such government, on a platform inspired by international law, would go a long way towards alleviating the current crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories. Recently, a strike by government employees paralysed government departments, schools and other public facilities. This makes unity more urgent than ever. Palestinian factions should place the interests of the nation above their own individual interests. Their continued wrangling is not in the interest of anyone, except Israel that is.
