End Palestinian strife!

It is a very sad fact that Palestinians are now divided into three factions -- the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- and are battling against each other. This will not help convince donors or investors of the future of the so-called Palestine state, nor of its aspiration to follow the Singaporean model as envisioned by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. In the best interests of the Palestinians, this is a tall order considering that Hamas and Jihad are very much against the PLO-Israel peace accord and are influenced by external factors. But if Mr. Arafat is to fail in his mission, the Palestinians would be in real bad shape. Such an outcome would undermine Israel's peace posture in the Middle East and affect the credibility of other Arab nations which supported the accord.

-- Berita Harian