The Fatah-Hamas Rift

<p><b>Analyzes the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas since 2007 a period of time that has been marked by the parties' continual failure to end political disagreements and formulate a common national vision.</b></p><p>How did two national movements-which both share the same national ethos based on territorial and human elements and the same history-fail to reach an agreement that would unite their forces to realize their aspirations? Both sides recall the <i>Nakba</i> (catastrophe) the term for the defeat in the 1948 war and the subsequent Palestinian exodus. They also both emphasize issues such as the victimization of refugees widows and orphans; the sanctity of Jerusalem and Palestine; the contributions of <i>shuhadaa</i> (martyrs) to the national struggle still in progress; and the suffering of the prisoners in Israeli jails. Despite this joint confrontation with the same opponent-Israel-Fatah leaders (the organization whose people are the foundation of the Palestinian Authority) and Hamas have failed to find a path to reconciliation. Examining the Palestinian internal question from an original angle <i>The Fatah-Hamas Rift</i> analyzes the many rounds of negotiations and seeks to explain this failure with a focus on the decade after 2007.</p>