New hope among Palestinians

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erikat   There is new cause for hope among Palestinians. National reconciliation, following a recent agreement between Hamas and Fatah, has provided a sense that anything is possible, wrote top Palestinian negotiater Saeb Erikat at US daily \'\' the Financial TImes\'\'.
Before the US Congress, however, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, recently laid out his vision of an Israel-Palestine peace – a peace he claims is prevented by our unity agreement.
Having heard from Mr Netanyahu, we believe that our case for reconciliation and statehood should now be heard.
There are important reasons for the US and the international community to support Palestinian reconciliation.
First, if supporting democracy in the Middle East is important, as President Barack Obama stated in his remarks before Mr Netanyahu’s speech, it must be recognised that we cannot conduct fair and inclusive elections in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, unless all Palestinian factions are represented.
Palestinians want democracy to take root: in this they are no different than their Arab brothers and sisters in Tunisia and Egypt.
In recent months, our young people have also made their voices heard: they are clear that they want an end to political division.