Can Fatah And Hamas Reconcile?

Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest calling for Palestinian political unity between Gaza's Hamas rulers and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority which rules from Ramallah, on March 15, 2011in Gaza City, as Palestinian activists across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank stage a day of massive demonstrations to call for political unity. UPI/Ismael Mohamad.

The Palestinians: Can Fatah and Hamas Be Friends? -- Karl Vick, Time

Under pressure from the Palestinian public, the political factions that have ruled a divided Palestine for the last five years are making what each calls a sincere effort to reconcile. Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Fatah party that governs the West Bank, has accepted an invitation from rival Hamas to travel to the Gaza Strip. The visit would be the first since Hamas drove Fatah operatives out of Gaza in 2007 — throwing some off from the tops of buildings — in the turmoil that followed Hamas' surprise victory in elections months earlier.

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My Comment: There has been calls from ordinary Palestinians for Hamas and Fatah to to bury their differences for a very long time. Unfortunately .... their dispute has taken the dimensions of a blood feud, with too much of a bad history for any trust or reconciliation to occur. My prediction .... it will take a new generation of leaders (20-30 years from now) to bury this hatchet.