Though both Hamas and Fatah have welcomed the offer by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to meet in Makkah to discuss their problems, the Kingdom still awaits news of their arrival. The Arab world has done its best to support the Palestinians, not least since the Washington-led rejection of their democratic choice of government. But Saudi Arabia is determined to offer rival leaders the place as well as the privacy to end the disgraceful shedding of Palestinian blood by Palestinians.
The internecine violence is almost certainly being fanned by the enemies of Palestine. If the rank and file on both sides can be filled with bitterness and anger, they may no longer be prepared to listen to their leaders. That is why King Abdullah’s offer must be seized sooner rather than later. It is certain that even when the Hamas and Fatah leaders arrive to try and seek common ground between them, hotheads and spies will be busy trying to undermine the success of the talks with ever more brutal violence. Every hour of delay makes the search for peace that much harder.
The only people who are gaining from this terrible confrontation are the enemies of the Palestinians. Any Palestinian who claims that attacking and killing another Palestinian will advance any good and decent cause is either a madman or an agent provocateur. This bloodletting shames the memory of all those Palestinians who have given their lives in the name of their country’s freedom and future. The guns must stop and the talking must start. And the guns must stay silent because the talks will be difficult and they may also be long. The climate of fear and suspicion on the streets of Gaza and now also in the West Bank means that the slightest provocation could unleash a murderous rain of bullets. But if Palestinian gunmen all agree that from now on, they will never be the first to fire, then there will be no firing, except by people whose motives deserve investigation.
The urgency which should be driving both Fatah and Hamas leaders to come to Makkah and begin talking about a way out of this crisis could not be greater. If anyone in either leadership believes that some political advantage can still be gained by further street fighting, they should hang their heads in shame. What possible advantage to the search for a just and lasting Palestinian settlement was the death of an eleven-year-old boy on Sunday, caught between rival gunmen and killed in a cross-fire?
Nothing better illustrates the enormity of what has been allowed to happen in Gaza than the murder of that child. Once it was Israeli troops in their body armor or their tanks who shot dead Palestinian children for throwing stones at them. Now Palestinian gunmen are doing the Israelis’ dirty work for them. Are they now going to drive each other into the sea and leave Palestine clear for Eretz Israel? Talks must begin immediately and there is surely no better place for them than Makkah. This may well be the last chance for them to save themselves.
