While local and international attention is focused on the imminent Israeli pull-out from Gaza, the the a multi-faceted internal struggle among Palestinian groups has entered a critical stage. The struggleIt pits Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, against Ahmed Qurei, eiMinister Ahmad Qurei’, the PA prime minister; and the “old guard” of Fatah, the dominant nationalist movement, against its “young guard’; and all sides against Islamist Hamas, the militant Islamist group.grouphas entered a critical stage.

The Fatah old guard, whose most prominent figure is Mr Qurei, is making a potentially fateful bid to block internal reform and democratisation, and to deny Hamas any chance of sharing meaningful power should it perform well in planned general elections.