Hamas and Fatah have apparently agreed to a unity government. Joe Klein explains the significance:
This profoundly changes the global Middle East peace game. Can Barack Obama now come out in favor of a comprehensive Middle East peace with Palestinians sworn to Israel’s destruction? I don’t think so. Does Prime Minister Netanyahu have to yield to such international pressure, in advance of the probable UN vote to declare Palestine a state in December? I don’t think so–especially with the uncertainties caused by Arab spring on every one of Israel’s borders. I suspect that nothing less than a formal Hamas declaration of Israel’s right to exist would bring the Israelis to the peace table anytime soon.
I doubt if even that would budge Netanyahu. Goldblog has a judicious take:
It's not good that Netanyahu has breathing space.
Breathing space, for him, means paralysis in the peace process (so-called). Israel must find, now — not later, but now — a formula that will allow it to withdraw its settlers from beyond the security fence, and to create conditions for the emergence of, at the very least, a more autonomous Palestinian entity, one that would become independent as soon as Israel can figure out a way to neutralize the Iranian threat…
It is not Hamas that is changing. It is the Palestinian Authority, which is sidelining Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the man most responsible for bringing the Authority the international credibility it needs to declare independence. This is not to say that Hamas is all-powerful; it is watching with trepidation as its second-most important ally, Bashar al-Assad, appears in danger of losing his throne, which would not be a bad thing for anyone except the Assad family.
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this before I've read more about it.
The Dish 