The best news to come from the Palestinian homeland in the last many years is the reconciliation between the PLO and the Hamas. The news has brought great relief to the entire Muslim Ummah.

The reconciliation was reached at a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas' leader Khaled Mashaal in Cairo. Conflict between the two organizations of the Palestinians had only benefited their opponents; while it kept the Palestinian people divided thus weakening their struggle for freedom and restoration of their homeland to them.

Unity is the first condition for the success of any national cause, more particularly when a people are struggling for freedom. The usurpers always seek to divide their victims to keep them in subjugation for a longer time.

The Palestinians remained sharply divided between PLO and Hamas for more than four years and delayed their victory for as many years, or perhaps more because of the damage that the movement suffered on account of the disunity.

The Muslim Ummah had watched the situation with deep anxiety. Ultimately it was due to efforts of influential leadership like the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt that the two sides were brought together to sit across the table and iron out their differences.

It is a matter of deep satisfaction that most of the contentious issues between them have been resolved, and according to knowledgeable sources, the remaining matters too would be similarly straightened out.

Israel and some of its western friends are naturally upset over the reunification of the Palestinians as it threatens their illegal occupation of the Palestinian homeland.

They would surely conspire to sabotage the new found unity among the Palestinian people. That is going to be a big challenge for the leadership of both the PLO and the Hamas as well as for the Palestinians and also for the Arab leadership who managed to bring about the reconciliation. The coming months are, therefore, going to be very crucial.

One hopes the Palestinian people would continue to work together to achieve their common goal of a free Palestinian state comprising Gaza, West Bank and all the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967, with Al-Quds as its capital.

The United Nations member states are committed to restore the Arab and Palestinian lands occupied by Israel. They must support the efforts of the Palestinian and Arab leaders for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state comprising all the Palestinian lands illegally occupied by Israel.

---