Divided Palestine

Benjamin Netanyahu’s abandonment of his early election and the revelation of a new coalition government have once again highlighted the need for the various Palestinian factions to form a cohesive front, and soon.

The alliance of the prime minister’s Likud party with the Kadima party, which leaves Netanyahu with one of the broadest governments in Israel’s history, seems only natural, for when countries believe they face an external threat, internal groups will forget their local differences and form a singular, united body.

Unfortunately, however, Palestine seems to buck this trend, and since the Nakba its composite parts have been unable to become a whole. And these various parts have never been as divided as they are today, with each heading in different directions in the pursuit of maintaining power and influence, all the while apparently forgetting about the Palestinian people.

And not only are these various political groupings failing to agree on how to further their cause, but they are also incapable of building a clear platform on smaller, but no less essential, issues of building a strong community able to defend its right to statehood.

This disunity is only rendering it all the more easy for the new Israeli coalition. Netanyahu spoke Tuesday of promoting a “responsible” peace process with the Palestinians. “Responsible” can take on a very broad definition when your opponents cannot even decide whether to deny your existence or to sit down and talk with you.

Time is now definitely against the Palestinians if they hope to gain any concessions from the Israelis. With every passing day, more illegal settlements are built in Israel and, understandably, more and more Palestinians are becoming increasingly frustrated with stalled progress. On both sides, this atmosphere is a fertile breeding ground for extremism.

Polarized now for decades, these various Palestinian factions have always relied on the support of external actors. But all too often, these foreign states or groups have been motivated by their own interests in the region, not those of the Palestinian people, and their meddling has often done more harm than good.

If Palestine is now going to have any chance of representing itself against a united government, headed by an extremist prime minister, it is imperative that the parties of Palestine recognize that only they can push forward their legitimate demand for a homeland.

Palestine, once the central cause of the Arab world, has now been all but forgotten in the wake of domestic concerns, and Palestinians can now expect little more than vocal support from their one-time friends.

The parties and groups of Palestine have to unite, for this might be their last chance. They must work together, creatively, to focus on the future and what needs to be done to move their cause forward. In this world, where nations must compete for survival of the fittest, Palestinians must once again make their cause heard.