Palestinian civil society may have been calling for Palestinian unity for years but news of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal didn’t feel as unifying and liberating as expected. <!–more–>The reality is that neither group has represented the Palestinian people in recent years. Their only success has been to destroy their image and credibility in the eyes of the people they claim to represent. As the Palestine Papers revealed to us, the Palestinian Authority was maintaining close relations with top Israeli officials for a number of years and it would be naïve to believe that this unity deal means those meetings have ended. More likely, it means that Hamas may be getting a piece of the action. In light of the ongoing democratic uprisings taking place in the Arab world, Palestinians have shifted from being the site of a potential revolution against occupation and oppression to the location of non-action where yet another police apparatus maintains their hold over power at the expense of the occupied Palestinian people. The world’s eyes have shifted from a stagnant Palestinian resistance to the inspirational Libyan, Syrian, Bahraini, and Yemeni resistance movements. Meanwhile, a less than shaky Palestinian leadership is scrambling to find a way to maintain their grip on the little power they have in a highly unstable situation.

On the ground, Palestinians largely view the Palestinian Authority as another Arab police state poised to silence those who speak out against them. In Gaza, the youth have made clear that they are tired of the violent crackdowns committed by the Hamas security apparatus and the political games being played in which they are the pawns in a battle for control. Let us not forget the impassioned words of the Gaza manifesto youth expressing their disgust with being prisoners of their own land, suppressed by not only Israel but their own leaders:
<blockquote>”Fuck <a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/hamas”>Hamas</a>…Fuck <a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel”>Israel</a>. Fuck <a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/fatah”>Fatah</a>. Fuck UN. Fuck UNWRA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community!”</blockquote>
Both Hamas and Fatah have proven themselves unworthy to represent a people who are crying out for freedom, dignity and liberation from multiple layers of repression. The manifesto goes on to say:
“We are supposed to be the engine of change in this society, but our voices are muted. In the press, at university, there is no room in our society to talk freely, out of the frame, without putting yourself and your family at risk”

Today, regardless of the validity of the reconciliation deal, press freedom has not been instituted and the voices of the youth are not being heard. Rather, two political entities- only as powerful as their Israeli occupier allows either of them to be- have joined forces. Furthermore, the deal was brokered by a questionable Egyptian ruling military administration. The ruling Egyptian military may have protected those on the streets of Egypt during the uprisings but they

remain a temporary transitional entity – not the legitimate representatives of the Egyptian people. Those who led the marches in the streets are fully aware that it is this entity, if not vigilantly watched, will preserve a system with which they have powerfully entrenched interests. The Egyptian military leadership and a tremendously wealthy and powerful Egyptian elite continue to be enriched by the American military industrial complex which is of course closely linked to the Israeli military industrial complex and not to mention, the Jordanian monarchy.

It would be foolish to put faith in an entity which was speculated and later proven to be working in the interests of the occupier and above all, themselves. Hamas is desperately trying to regain legitimacy after years of being ostracized and blockade but their efforts will fall on deaf ears. It seems clear that any leadership which will bring the Palestinians on the path to liberation will be those who are risking their lives to mobilize Palestinian youth on the ground. If history is any indicator, meaningful change will not emerge from a stale governing body masquerading as Palestinian leadership, nor a religiously oriented, repressive movement that cannot accurately represent most segments of Palestinian society. It will, more than likely, result from the growth of a grassroots, pro-democracy movement emerging from Palestinian ground with the aid of a global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement which seems to be the only tool available to put real pressure on the Israel.

As Ali Abunimah put it in his recent article Toward Palestine’s Mubarak Moment “such elections only further the illusion of self-governance while doing nothing to challenge or change actual Israeli control. And, when there is so much political repression in the West Bank, and indeed in Gaza, how can we have a guarantee of free elections?”

This move may, in fact, just be last ditch attempt to reinforce the two state agenda by maintaining the illusion of Palestinian governance. In fact a rapid growth in the Arab-Palestinian demographic, highly intertwined Jewish and Arab communities and a co-dependent economy in all of historical Palestine are all making the necessity of a one-state even more real. Although the Palestine Papers have shown that Palestinian Authority officials such as Saeb Eriekat, were ‘threatening one state’ against Israeli leaders, the reality lies in the fact that the Palestinian Authority derives their façade of legitimacy from the two state framework which has failed over and over again. For that reason, the current “Palestinian Leadership” will never promote a one state agenda because it would mean actually acting in the interest of the Palestinian people. In the past, a two state framework may truly have been desirable, but today it has been made impossible and waiting for its implementation has only meant more Israeli appropriation of Palestinian land via settlements and the consolidation of oppressive power in a Palestinian leadership which has truly lost its purpose.Rich Text Area