The aftermath of the war with Israel will shape Palestinian life

By Gregg Carlstrom

For more than a decade, life in the Palestinian territories was painfully static. The occupied West Bank was ruled by the corrupt nationalists of Fatah, and blockaded Gaza was run by the corrupt Islamists of Hamas. Residents of the West Bank endured the daily abuses of occupation. Those in Gaza suffered occasional short wars, and longer periods where life was calm but miserable. There was no progress towards a two-state solution—nor any reconciliation between the two estranged Palestinian factions.