After years of animosity, armed hostilities and, lately, an uneasy truce, the bitter rift between Fatah and Hamas has - on the surface at least - begun to heal. The rival parties yesterday signed an accord to form a Palestinian unity government.

The agreement, negotiated by Qatar, confirms the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas as the head of an interim government, with plans to set a date for unified general elections in the West Bank and Gaza. It would be the first such vote since Hamas won elections in 2006.

The announcement should mark the most significant development in Palestinian politics since the battle for Gaza in 2007. The finer details of the agreement are yet to be revealed and it remains to be seen whether this union, unlike previous ones, will hold.

But one thing is beyond question: whether seeking recognition of statehood at the United Nations, or an unlikely return in the near future to the negotiating table with Israel, Palestinian progress is impossible without a unity government.

In part, regional events have forced this detente. The events of the Arab Spring have convinced leaders on both sides that they risk being left behind if they did not adapt to the new order in the region. It is no coincidence that on the same day the unity government was announced, Hamas's last remaining political representative left the party's headquarters in Damascus. To the benefit of the Palestinian people, Hamas is distancing itself from the patrons that have manipulated the struggle for their own ends.

Fatah and the present-day Palestinian Authority must also heed the currents of reform in the region. The infighting of recent months and legacy of corruption continue to undermine national efforts. And the expected departure of prime minister Salam Fayyad, who had overseen genuine economic progress in the West Bank, would be an unfortunate price of this deal.

But the deal had to be struck. The peace process is dead, Israel is building more settlements every day and disunity remains the greatest weakness.

Israel refuses to negotiate with Hamas, and in due time the movement will need to renounce violence to move forward. For the time being, however, the objections of an Israeli government that lacks good faith can be ignored. The only position of strength for Palestinians depends on unity. And it is past time leaders represented the people rather than their own narrow partisan interests.