Abstract

In the aftermath of Palestinian political divide in June 2007, a number of regional and local initiatives and agreements were introduced to restore Palestinian unity and reconciliation. The old model was focused on factional reconciliation and how the main factions (Fatah and Hamas) foresee national reconciliation. These initiatives and agreements have tackled Palestinian reconciliation from a security and factional interests’ perspective without engaging the Palestinian people or youth who make more than half of the eligible power base in the Gaza Strip. However, all of these initiatives and agreements have failed so far to put an end to the internal political divide and achieve national unity and reconciliation. The political split between Hamas and Fatah has deepened over the past decade. In addition to ideological differences between Hamas and Fatah, international and regional players have also prevented them from concluding reconciliation. Fatah is a nationalist group dedicated to the two-state solution with Israel through peaceful negotiations. On the other hand, Hamas is an Islamist organization who is not willing to relinquish historic Palestine and is dedicated to put an end to the Israeli occupation through armed struggle and resistance. Internal special interests are also an obstacle preventing leaders of both factions from ending their differences and move forward. Neither Fatah nor Hamas believe in political partnership. Hamas is not willing to give up its security control over Gaza, while Fatah is not willing to share political power in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) political institutions with Hamas. The purpose of this paper is to look into Palestinian reconciliation from a different perspective. How do Palestinian youth see national reconciliation? What are the most important components of such reconciliation. Palestinian youth in Gaza have been victims of the political split as many of them have been persecuted by the de facto Hamas government and its security services, and also suffered enormously from the rising unemployment levels which reached about 60% among them. In addition, thousands of Palestinian youth from Gaza have migrated and fled the ongoing life conditions in Gaza. Palestinian youth have also protested against the ongoing split frequently in March 2011 and 2017. While some believe that the Palestinian split is irreconciled, this study will also learn from the literature of reconciliation in Germany, South Africa, Rwanda, and pay attention to how progress was possible in these cases that is missing in the Palestinian case. The study will be based on a field research among Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip. The researchers will design a questionnaire and survey which will be distributed evenly among Palestinian youth, males, and females, above the age of 18.