Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to reenter talks aimed at bringing Fatah-controlled portions of the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and under the rule of a single government. Efforts to overcome divisions between the two groups have repeatedly faltered, but yesterday representatives from both pledged to begin a months-long process out of which a single government would emerge.

The West Bank and Gaza territories have been under separate rule since a bloody 2007 conflict that saw Hamas kill and expel Fatah officials from the Gaza Strip. Tensions betewen the two groups have ebbed and flowed since. This month Israeli officials broke up a Hamas cell operating in the West Bank. Five Hamas members in the West Bank were arrested by Palestinian officers as well, following the arrests of four in April.

Meanwhile a Fatah official’s car was attacked in the Gaza Strip.

Any Palestinian government seeking international recognition would be required to accept conditions issued by the Quartet, which is composed of the U.S., Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. Those conditions include meeting Palestinian commitments to renounce violence against Israel and recognize Israel’s right to exist. Hamas leaders have categorically rejected those conditions. The juxtaposition is likely to complicate Palestinian unity efforts.

[Photo: AFP / Youtube]