Strategic Assessment

On February 8, 2007, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashal, head of the Hamas political bureau, signed an agreement in Mecca on the principles for a unity government; the new government was approved by the Palestinian parliament and sworn in by President Abbas on March 17. Even before formulating the joint coalition manifesto, however, the sides had agreed to stop firing at Israel in order to alleviate Israeli pressure on the Gaza Strip. This decision, which was announced in November and was met with a cessation of IDF activity in the Gaza Strip, changed the Israeli-Palestinian dynamic after months of confrontation. At the same time, the challenge facing the government of Israel faced remained, since Israel agreed on the ceasefire with President Abbas only. However, in view of the balance of power in the Palestinian arena that has emerged in recent years, it seems unlikely that the ceasefire will endure without coordination between Israel and Palestinian Authority representation, among them members of Hamas. Agreement on the creation of a unity government may help to expand the dialogue framework and to promote understandings between Israel and a joint, representative Palestinian team that will bear overall security responsibility.