Reconciliation at last?

摘要

For the Palestinian people craving an end to the bitter division between their two squabbling movements, the Islamists of Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah nationalists in the West Bank, few sights were more pleasing than the celebrations at the end of Israel's eight-day offensive on Gaza last month. A multicoloured sea of flags from every faction, including a raucous contingent of Fatah rarely seen on Gaza's streets since Hamas ouste d its forces in 2007, filled the courtyard of Gaza's legislative council to celebrate the ceasefire. From the front steps of the building that Hamas has dominated since its takeover five years ago, Nabil Shaath, Fatah's envoy, praised "the resistance" for its victory over "the enemy". "The war has turned Hamas into a legitimate partner for Fatah," he said.