Everyone in the region is talking about Gaza — and the signs are positive

Officially, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad position is that they will not support any long-term agreement if it does not include an immediate end to the closure imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza. 

But it is clear to all sides that any arrangement will have to be gradual. 

The main obstacle that remains to any long-term solution is the lack of cooperation between Hamas and the Fatah faction, which dominates the Palestinian Authority and wants to control all funds for rebuilding Gaza. 

It is trying to prevent attempts by the US and Canadian governments to fund programmes in the Strip independently. 

Both Palestinian factions still claim they want reconciliation but have proved incapable of working out how the Palestinian Authority will retake control of the Gaza Strip. Largely, this is due to Hamas refusing to relinquish its weapons, but also to President Mahmoud Abbas’ reluctance to give up his economic sanctions on Gaza. 

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov has been proving himself singularly effective both in achieving speedy ceasefires between Israel and Hamas and negotiating between the rival Palestinian factions. After shuttling between Jerusalem, Gaza, Cairo and Ramallah in recent days, he has expressed optimism. 

There were two rounds of escalation in the last month in which hundreds of rockets were fired at Israel and Israel responded with dozens of air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza. The fact that both were contained within 24 hours underlines the fact that neither side is anxious for a protracted conflict. 

Last Friday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during the Friday protests near the Gaza border fences, but there was no further escalation. 

That, and the fact that Mr Mladenov has managed to get Hamas and Fatah delegations around the same table in Cairo is progress in itself.