Palestine’s resurgent authority

The year 2011 began with a great deal of uncertainty — perhaps even promise — for the Palestinians. Much of that had to do with the revolutionary fervor that had taken hold in the region. The ousting of Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak were regarded by many young Palestinians as an opening — an opportunity to force open their own binds. The March 15 Palestinian youth movement successfully captured and focused the energy of the Arab uprisings on the need for rapprochement between the Hamas and Fatah parties. After a period of stiff resistance by both political leaderships, efforts were made to the end to the rift that has bedeviled the Palestinians since 2007. Not all progress on reconciliation in the first part of the year can be linked to the agitations of young Palestinians. Much of the impetus for the renewed political process was tied to