Hamas cancels Fatah reconciliation meeting over direct peace talks

...they have the strategic advantage of time, long history on the land, and a large majority population. Jews are a minority and will always be so, history is on the Arab side and so is the world now, its only a matter of time before Israel must capitulate to majority rule.

In the end though, it will be Palestinian public opinion - in which they lag and will lag even more once the state is is realized - and their own desire to remain viable, which will bring them to acceptance...and into the mainstream as a political entity.

If the Fatah can't function without donations which surprisingly come mostly from non-Arabs. Then who is supporting the Hamas? And why aren't these two governing bodies supported by their own electors or their own people? Personally I don't care what happens to Palestinians. After seeing them fill the streets in mass and celebrate the attack on the WTC and Pentagon in the US, I decided then that they actually deserved to be miserable.

This stepback from another reconciliation meting at this point is a wise move. It is far from being overly sceptical. Abbas having accepted to engage in direct talks, whatever the circumstances under which he made the decision, and Netanyahu having managed to get his Western supporters to wrest a no-precondition agreement from Abbas, let the two work it out. Let Netanyahu "surprise" Abbas and "surprise" the world. Meanwhile, the realists -- not sceptics but realists -- should continue to prepare for whatever contingency measures may be necessary. As the sorely-missed Yasser Arafat used to say: "I have an olive branch in my right hand; I have a gun in my left hand". If Netanyahu knocks the olive branch from the right hand, thinking, as usual, that his might, added to Western backing, is irresistible, he will bear the blame and the world would have known what kind of "surprise" he had all along intended to pull on the world. For, now, the decision of Hamas, which, let's not forget, won the free and fair Palestinain elections in 2006, is the wise course to take.

..but understandable. Division among the Palestinians weakens the Palestinians. The Israel-Palestine conflict is a brazen example that has shown the world, that power dictates a course of action -- not the law. Which is why it is difficult to fault Abbas for trying diplomacy, when he is so weak and reliant, despite his knowing that according to the law, there really is no prevailing need for direct talks.

I have no love for Hamas but as a government they have been doing a much better job in Hamastan than Fatah have been doing. Fatah is still run by the Arafat appointed higherarchy. The same people are running things than were there when we signed oslo 16 years ago. There were supposed to be presidential elections in January 2009 Abbas though decided it was his right to postpone the election by a year and we are now going on 2 years and no sign of an election anytime soon. Despite the blockade and the fact they are still carrying out terror attacks and diverting recources to smuggling tunnels rather than rebuilding as a government in Hamastan they have been doing a much better job than Fatah have been doing in Judea & Samaria. They have been brining in lots of new laws some good and some not so good. They are building malls & waterparks whilst Fatah with trees donated by the JNF are building new cities which only the rich palestinians will be able to afford to live in. Seperation is probably better for both parties. Its also probably better for Israel because of Hamas are holed up in Gaza if Israel retaliates to a terror attack it doesn't affect Fatah .. it means Israels hands are not tied for the sake of talks.

They don't want to be invited to peace negotiations - that should be clear to anybody paying attention. Hamas benefits from no peace -

The worst enemy of terrorist organizations, such as hamas an hizbula, is Peace. Their reason to exist is war and death.

Shows you how much love there is between these arab brothers and sisters. The west is being played for the fool here.

What else do people need to know when wondering why peace is so hard to come by

Hamas, Fatah, PLO, PFLP, Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Al-Qaida, Iran, Syria, Lebanon ALL WANT PEACE. Unfortunately, the terrorist State of Israel will never agree to peace with any/all of these peaceful organizations/Nations.

they must know that with their Mickey Mouse firework will never defeat israel with its sophistacted lethal weapons.

As a reward for being at peace with Israel, Fatah gets to have peace talks with Israel. As a punishment for not being at peace with Israel, Hamas is not invited to the peace talks. This is Israels idea of the road to peace. It is in Israels interest to promote hostility between Fatah and Hamas. They have put a lot of effort into this in the past. To be fair, it is the Palestinians fault for allowing Israel to play them in this fashion. The ones that profit from this are Israel and the leaderships of Fatah and Hamas. The ordinary Palestinian citizens are victimized by their leadership as much as they are by Israel.