Fatah-Hamas Rivalries after Gaza : is unity impossible?

Even if Israeli Operation ‘Cast Lead’ seemed at first to have driven a decisive wedge in the prospect of resumed unity between Fatah and Hamas because of President Abbas' mild condemnation of the Israeli operation in December 2008, both main Palestinian political factions decided to launch a process of reconciliation under the aegis of the Egyptian government last February. Seven months after the two sides' commitment to unity talks, a final deal still has to be signed. The two main stumbling blocks on the road to unity remain a formal agreement in terms of institutional power sharing and the question of resources linked to security management in the Territories.