By Sardar Khan Niazi

In the heart of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts lies a strategy as enduring as the occupation itself: the deliberate fragmentation of Palestinian political unity. For decades, successive Israeli governments have relied on a divide-and-rule line of attack, recognizing that a fractured Palestinian polity is far easier to dominate than a unified national movement. This strategy has grown more brazen in recent years. The ongoing rift between Hamas and Fatah–two dominant Palestinian factions–has become a political gift to Israel, exploited at every opportunity to prevent the emergence of a coherent Palestinian leadership capable of negotiating on behalf of its people. The tragedy is not only in how this division has paralyzed Palestinian political life, but also in how Israeli policies have actively sustained it. Since the split in 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah, retained power in the West Bank, Israel has maneuvered carefully to maintain this status quo. On the one hand, it brands Hamas as a terrorist organization and refuses to engage with it politically. On the other hand, it undermines the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy by expanding settlements in the West Bank and entrenching military occupation–thus sabotaging the Palestinian Authority’s ability to claim any meaningful achievements. By doing so, Israel manages to delegitimize both factions while evading serious peace negotiations. A divided Palestinian body politic allows Israel to argue that there is no partner for peace. It has become a catch phrase for Israel. In addition, helps Tel Aviv in creating a convenient excuse for the perpetuation of the status quo. The international community, meanwhile, often overlooks this calculated dynamic, treating Palestinian disunity as an internal failure rather than a product of external engineering. What is rarely acknowledged is how Israel’s blockade of Gaza, its targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders, and its tacit cooperation with the Palestinian Authority on security matters all serve the same goal: preventing the emergence of a united Palestinian front. Even when attempts at reconciliation have gained traction–such as the Cairo talks between Hamas and Fatah–Israel has responded with a combination of diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, or military aggression to derail them. Moreover, the global perception of the conflict is shaped by this fragmentation. In the West Bank, Palestinians live under a hybrid system of occupation and limited self-rule, while Gazans endure siege and intermittent bombardment. In Jerusalem and inside Israel itself, Palestinian citizens and residents face systemic discrimination. This fractured reality makes it difficult to present the Palestinian cause as a unified struggle for self-determination–exactly as Israel prefers. But unity remains a prerequisite for any meaningful progress. Palestinian reconciliation is not just a matter of internal politics; it is a strategic imperative. Without a unified leadership that can represent all Palestinians–from Ramallah to Gaza to Jerusalem–any peace process is destined to fail before it even begins. The road to Palestinian self-determination must pass through internal cohesion, but that road is persistently mined by Israeli policies designed to maintain division. The irony is painful: the very fragmentation that weakens Palestinian claims to statehood is the result of an occupation that refuses to allow that statehood in the first place. To move forward, the international community must recognize the role Israel plays in perpetuating Palestinian disunity and stop treating it as an unfortunate byproduct rather than a central feature of the conflict. Peace cannot be built on the foundations of division. As long as Israel continues to manipulate Palestinian politics to preserve the current impasse, genuine progress will remain elusive. Unity is not a threat to peace–it is the only path to it.