More than a month ago, Palestinian factions in Cairo formally agreed to end years of inner-Palestinian strife between Fatah and Hamas. Four years of internal division between the West Bank and Gaza were to be overcome by a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas and Fatah. While international reactions were mixed,  the Palestinian territories celebrated the move as a breakthrough. Today, however, real Palestinian unity still seems as distant as ever. Five weeks into negotiations on the formation of a government and consultations have only resulted in a sobering series of procrastinations. While Palestinian unity was thus celebrated in Cairo, the Palestinian Territories disagreements continue.

The biggest bone of contention blocking substantial progress is choosing the person who will head the new Palestinian government. In Cairo, the factions agreed to form a cabinet of technocrats unaffiliated to political parties and charged with the task of preparing elections and re-building Gaza. Despite this technical approach, the search for a prime minister has proved a highly contentious political question. Among other reasons, finding the perfect prime minister is important because international financial support needed by the Palestinian economy is directly connected to the reputation of the Prime Minister.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has lobbied for another term for West Bank prime minister Salam Fayyad. Consequently, Fatah’s Central Committee declared Fayyad the official candidate of Fatah last week. The former IMF economist has gained international recognition for solid state-building policies that have led to double-digit growth rates in the West Bank. Despite Fayyad’s credentials, Hamas has repeatedly rejected Fayyad as an American proxy in an attempt to increase bargaining power for other key cabinet posts. Last week, Hamas leader Salah Bardawil formally rejected Fayyad, since “his name was linked to four years of siege on Gaza as well as to arrests and torture of Hamas activists in the West Bank." A new and possibly final round of negotiations will be continued next week and is expected to include direct talks between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mishal. The objective: Help Hamas climb down from the tree and accept a further term for Prime Minister Fayyad.

Disagreement also persists in terms of security. While in Cairo, negotiators agreed to establish a “higher security council” to oversee the merging of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza into a unified structure, neither Fatah nor Hamas have shown any willingness to give up control of their respective security agencies. Hamas is determined to retain military control over Gaza and Palestinians in the West Bank are unwilling to grant political control over US-trained police forces to an organisation that continues to be labeled a “terrorist movement” by the West. Also, no political prisoners have been set free. Given Hamas’ programmatic militancy, this position is endorsed by Western governments.

Implementing the unity deal has so far also failed in terms of harmonising competing administrative structures. Just days after the signing of the unity deal, Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh officially ordered Hamas-run ministries in Gaza to continue independent political planning procedures. Despite postulated unity, distinct Gaza policies were to continue “in parallel” to attempts to unify administrations. Only weeks before, Hamas ministries had been asked to elaborate long term strategic plans for the coming three years. How these independent plans can be synchronised with Palestinian state-building policies in the West Bank remains an open question.  

Uncertainties also persist in view of unifying Palestinian legislation passed in both Gaza and the West Bank. Scores of presidential decrees in the West Bank and dozens of laws elaborated in the Gaza branch of the Palestinian Legislative Council cannot be easily harmonized. Essentially, Gaza and the West Bank have so far simply continued to form two distinct administrative entities. Progress has also remained elusive vis-à-vis Palestinian civil servants in Gaza. Following the violent Hamas take-over in 2007, the movement recruited thousands of civil servants to replace employees loyal to the West Bank administration. In a rare case of a government-financed strike, Palestinian employees loyal to Mahmoud Abbas continued to receive monthly salaries for administrative tasks they were unable to fulfill. As of today, the question of how to deal with this army of civil servants without portfolio continues to loom.  

Progress also lacks concerning the enthusiastic announcement to reform the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In Cairo, Mahmoud Abbas vowed to realise a long-standing Hamas demand and to grant the movement acceptance into the PLO. This question has severe political implications, since it is the PLO that is recognised internationally as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” in charge of negotiations with Israel. While a reform commission was established, Mahmoud Abbas was recently quoted calling a fundamental reform of the PLO “premature.” This stalemate has important consequences for attempts to renew a resilient peace process and for the organisation of elections. While the Cairo agreement was signed to facilitate a swift vote, the only concrete step so far taken has been the postponement of elections. A local vote planned for this summer was put on hold until further notice. This does not only weaken democracy in the Palestinian territories but also hampers the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas, whose mandate expired in January 2011.  

Although the delay of implementing the Palestinian unity deal has given the international community ample time to contemplate whether or not to accept a government backed by Hamas, a deal that is only realised on paper might with time develop into a political setback on another level. Continued Palestinian disunity severely reduces Palestinian momentum to rally for international support at the United Nations.

While President Abbas has welcomed recent French attempts to restart negotiations in Paris, the Israeli refusal to embrace last minute talks has left Palestinians no choice but to continue for the time being their bid for statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. If, however, a unified Palestinian State is not substantiated in Gaza and the West Bank, a lasting Chimera of Palestinian unity might turn the attempt to declare a state at the United Nations into a pipe dream.