Only meetings among world leaders are usually called summits, but the recent meeting of Palestinian factions deserves that same epithet. Thirteen Palestinian factions came to Cairo last week to discuss the future of the Palestinian people and the peace process, and consider giving peace a chance through the declaration of a truce, or a period of calm. The gathering, covered widely in regional and international media, was a sign of political maturity, a culmination of years of national struggle. "Israel wants peace and land. The Palestinians want peace, land and a state," Egypt's Intelligence Chief Omar Soleiman, who moderated the talks, said, summarising the dilemma. The Palestinians knew what Soleiman was talking about. They also knew that they face unusual challenges and need a new approach. After years of struggle, the Palestinians have not yet achieved any of their objectives. They have not attained peace, liberation, or a state. The only way for the Palestinians to move ahead is to coordinate their policy, formulate a common strategy, and keep the dialogue going. For once, the Palestinians saw beyond their ideological and factional differences. The Palestinian Authority and Palestinian factions need to prove to a weary world that they take peace seriously. They need to do so because they cannot afford to give Israel a chance to break free from the commitments enshrined in the roadmap and the principles announced in Sharm El-Sheikh. Israel should withdraw from more Palestinian cities in the West Bank, remove roadblocks and checkpoints, pull out of Gaza, release Palestinian detainees, and stop targeting Palestinian resistance members. Once this is done, all relevant parties could sit down and discuss final status issues: Jerusalem, refugees, borders, water, etc. It is hard to guess what Israel will do next. Sharon's government and Israeli extremists may still try to wriggle out of their commitments. The Israelis disagree on peace, and have repeatedly tried to dodge the issue by starting conflicts elsewhere in the region. What will happen now? Think Lebanon and Syria. This is where the next conflagration may occur.
