Analysis: Real 2-state problem is the Hamas-Fatah feud

[Fozzledick]

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

The Obama administration, through its special Middle East envoy George Mitchell, has launched what seems to be an aggressive campaign aimed at pressuring the new Israeli government into accepting the two-state solution.

But even if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman do finally succumb to the American pressure, they, along with Mitchell, will find that the Palestinians themselves are still far from achieving their goal of building a viable and independent state.

In fact, the Palestinians already have two separate political entities, or mini-states - one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip. These rival entities, controlled by Fatah and Hamas respectively, are acting and dealing with each other like two different countries.

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Spokesmen from both Palestinian parties have said over the past few days that only a miracle could lead to an agreement between the two sides. The gap between them remained as wide as ever, they noted, adding that the Egyptians were now considering canceling plans to host another round of reconciliation talks scheduled to take place in Cairo at the end of April.

For now, it appears that the Palestinians (and the rest of the world) will have to live with the fact that the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip is not a temporary or passing phenomenon.

If the Obama administration is serious about promoting the two-state solution, it must focus its efforts first and foremost on helping the Palestinians solve the dispute between the Fatah-run state in the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled entity in the Gaza Strip.

The divisions among the Palestinians, as well as failure to establish proper and credible institutions, are the main obstacle to the realization of the two-state solution.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710711874&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[Fozzledick]

1. Officials say Hamas and Fatah no nearer to reconciliation

By Amira Hass

Despite popular expectations that Hamas and Fatah would overcome their differences, there is concern in Gaza that the next round of reconciliation talks between Fatah and the Islamic movement will not take place.

According to a member of one of the five conciliation committees, the gap between the two sides is still too wide for the Egyptians to risk convening the committees. "Egypt cannot stand another failure," he told Haaretz. When asked whether the current tension between Egypt and Hezbollah and the identification of Hamas with the Shiite movement in Lebanon is influencing a possible postponement of the talks, he said that bridging the differences is difficult in any event.

Another party to the talks said that the Egyptians have called the next round a "last chance," and that Egypt would wash its hands of its efforts to host and mediate the talks if the next round fails. Last month the talks in Cairo ended with a decision that the remaining differences would be dealt with by a single, senior committee. It was recently reported that the talks would resume on April 26, but as of last night, it was not clear if the senior committee would reconvene or whether the other committees would meet.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1078590.html