No one expected a full-scale confrontation to develop between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas ahead of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. True, some had predicted conflict, but only after the withdrawal as the PA began to impose law and order. What occurred in Gaza was not only tragic, it betrays the sacrifices and struggle of the Palestinian people. Hamas, along with other Palestinian factions, hasn't attempted to cooperate with the PA. In refusing to be part of the pre-withdrawal arrangements, by rejecting a national unity government and by opting for violence Hamas, in particular, has undermined the PA. Jihad, for its part, attacked Natanya last week in an operation that harmed, more than helped, the Palestinian cause. Palestinian factions have done little to present a unified front ahead of Israel's withdrawal. Instead they have acted to complicate the position of the PA. It is no secret the PA and the factions have their differences, but these differences are no excuse for bloodshed. The Palestinians need to prove to the world they can run their own show and resolve their own differences. It is time the factions and the PA learned how to get along for the Palestinian people must have a single authority, one capable of honouring legal and security commitments and providing a better life for ordinary people. The Palestinians must act to discredit those who claim the PA is too weak to assume control of areas evacuated by Israel. They must show that Israel is wrong about the separation wall, wrong when it tries to cut off Jerusalem from its surrounding areas. Israeli withdrawal represents a chance for the Palestinian leadership and Arab countries -- indeed for all peace- loving people -- to turn Gaza and the northern West Bank into a model of human and economic development. But the Palestinians need first to start acting as one nation. The split in their ranks, the dichotomy between PA and factions, can only harm their cause and undermine efforts to build an independent state.
