Have they taken a moment to confront their own performance, assess their political choices, and understand the regional and international transformations that have brought the Palestinian situation to its current tragic reality—a reality that none of the factions can possibly find acceptable?
Although these factions have long been central actors in Palestinian political life, they have failed to translate the enormous efforts Egypt has made over the decades into tangible progress on the ground. Internal divisions have repeatedly overshadowed these efforts, prevailing over the higher national interests of the Palestinian people.
Egypt’s consistent mediation—rooted in a vision that regards Palestine as a matter of national security—has sought to prevent these factions from drifting into isolation or narrow agendas.
Instead, Cairo has worked, based on its historic ties with all Palestinian movements, to focus collective energies on one priority: the reconstruction of the Palestinian political house as a precondition for any sustainable political process leading to statehood.
Reuniting that fragmented “house” has never been easy.
The divisions are deep, the mistrust ingrained, and the path toward a unified vision almost Herculean. Yet Egypt never relented.
It held hundreds of meetings aimed at forging a comprehensive national consensus—one grounded in the sanctity of Palestinian blood, the reactivation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the reinforcement of the Palestinian Authority (PA) as the official and legal face of the Palestinian cause in regional and international forums.
At this juncture, the question of responsibility must be faced squarely. While Israel bears undeniable responsibility for the disastrous situation, it is intellectually dishonest to place all the blame on Tel Aviv.
A greater burden rests with the Palestinian factions themselves—whose rivalries, miscalculations, and pursuit of power created the very vacuum Israel has exploited to deepen division, entrench occupation, and advance its extremist agenda in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.
The aftermath of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation and Israel’s war of annihilation on Gaza has produced an immense humanitarian catastrophe that will scar generations.
Yet even amid these calamities, the factions have failed to display the seriousness required by the moment. Despite Israel’s transparent attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause, factional fragmentation and organizational self-interest have persisted.
No united political front has emerged to support the official Palestinian position; instead, discord has intensified, as if the devastation of Gaza were a passing episode unworthy of national introspection or sacrifice.
Against this backdrop, Egypt—coordinating closely with Qatar and the United States—succeeded in reaching a framework to end the Gaza crisis, based on President Trump’s peace initiative.
The Sharm El-Sheikh Summit for Peace and the signing of the four-party guarantor agreement marked a critical turning point. Implementation of the first phase, involving prisoner and hostage exchanges, humanitarian aid delivery, and partial Israeli withdrawal, has already begun.
Yet the second phase, far more complex, will depend heavily on both parties’ commitments.
Cairo understands that the success of the Trump plan hinges fundamentally on Palestinian unity—not only to engage effectively with the plan itself but also to navigate the emerging “day-after” realities that will shape the future of the Palestinian cause.
In this spirit, Egypt has recently hosted several Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to discuss the plan’s practical components.
Consensus was reached on several key principles: the formation of a Palestinian technocratic committee to administer Gaza; an international reconstruction committee; and the deployment of a UN-mandated monitoring force to ensure compliance with the ceasefire. These are constructive, necessary steps paving the way for an inclusive Palestinian dialogue that could produce a coherent national vision for the next stage.
The responsibility now lies squarely with the factions.
They must quickly agree on a realistic, comprehensive national strategy that reflects the gravity of the moment. The coming phase will be entirely different from the past—there will be no space for delay or political manoeuvring. This may well be the final, decisive test for all Palestinian factions.
A people who have endured so much suffering will ultimately hold their leaders accountable for transforming their national cause into a mere humanitarian crisis. The factions must also understand that the train of implementation for President Trump’s plan—already in motion—will not wait for anyone.
*The writer is the Deputy Director of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS)
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