By John Ballard
Progress in Gaza is slow. Almost too slow to notice. It's like watching a tree grow or waiting for the minute hand of a clock to move...it seems nothing is happening.
But here are two positive glimmers.
Mark Lynch at FP.
The contours of the response to the Gaza flotilla fiasco are now coming into sharper public view: the Israeli government will significantly ease the blockade of Gaza in exchange for American support for a whitewash of the investigation of the flotilla incident. As I've said many times on Twitter, this is a good deal. No investigation was ever going to produce anything of any particular value, but easing the blockade of Gaza could have significant positive effects for the people of Gaza, the prospects of Palestinian reconciliation, the peace process, and American credibility in the region. None of those will happen on their own, of course. And nobody is likely to be fully satisfied with the new measures. I've been quite critical of how the Obama team has handled the Israeli-Palestinian track, and particularly the Gaza situation --- and if they had moved strongly to resolve the Gaza blockade a year ago, the issue wouldn't have been there now to exploit. But now, I think they deserve some real credit for nudging Israel towards finally making a move which could over time open up some real new possibilities for progress.�
...The Obama administration now deserves credit for focusing on Gaza and helping to convince the Netanyahu government to make substantial changes to the Gaza blockade. The emerging system seems likely to shift from a system which kept out a vast and bewildering array of goods and products to one with a much more tightly defined black list of items with military applications. A much wider range of food and materials should now be able to enter, allowing for greater rebuilding and a more normal life --- ideally, while also reducing the near-complete dependence of Gazans on the Hamas-controlled tunnel smuggling trade. It's not the full lifting of the blockade which many have demanded, but it's still a significant change -- one that sort of reminds me of the attempt to create "smart sanctions" on Iraq back in 2001, as the U.S. came to recognize that the old sanctions regime had almost totally collapsed, and only served to strengthen Saddam's regime. Much will depend on how the new system is implemented, something about which past experience isn't reassuring, but this is still a significant change which shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
Maan News Agency.
Bethlehem � Ma'an � President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a meeting with the conciliation committee Friday night, followed by a meeting with the Fatah Executive Committee on Saturday, in anticipation of a unity announcement.
Sources told Ma'an that the committee, lead by billionaire and independent Palestinian political figure Munib Al-Masri, has nearly come to a deal with leaders from Hamas in the West Bank, Gaza and Damascus, as well as Fatah officials, with support from the Arab League.
An announcement, expected Saturday, could be pushed back, but sources said it was "just a matter of time" until a deal is made public.
Sources told Ma'an that Al-Masri has come close to finding a consensus, that the "dispute was not even close to what we thought it was," and that a document is in the final stages of approval.
While details are scarce, sources said notes currently being passed between factions are on the level of "technical details," with sources saying this is an indication that the larger issues of the dispute have been cleared.
More at the links.
Plenty of skepticism in the comments at both.
Update: Disregard that Hamas/Fatah story. I'm not gonna wast time formatting a quote. Go to the link for details.
This is so tiresome. The Palestinians are their own worst enemies.
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