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Political changes on the ground are effecting changes in perceptions and offering new perspectives in the Palestinian arena. This research paper offers new insights and developments on the future Palestinian political map in the light of the Oslo agreements and the subsequent Intifada. It argues there is much room for structural political reform with wider political participation as a must in the Palestinian system of government and politics. The paper says the system of government in the areas run by the Palestinian National Authority are in the process of witnessing change, and it is up to the decision-maker to realize the elements of this change in order to look for the future. What needs to be dwelled upon also, is the nature of the political environment. This would enable the creations of new political affinities, structural modes and the allowance of different political parties to enter and participate in the building of a new Palestinian polity. These have to be understood within the social and political changes that are happening on the ground by way of the uprising in the West Bank and Gaza, and the new doctrines and thought processes related to the issue of political moderation which is gaining greater weight among major Palestinian factions like Fatah and especially Hamas; the paper argues that the leaders of Hamas have been gaining wider popular support since the start of the Intifada, and it is this that has led them to adopt a more pragmatic approach and capitalize on their strength. These developments have been underpinned by the external changes, on the Arab, international and Israeli levels and are having a significant effect on internal Palestinian politics and maneuverings. It is argued that the US occupation of Iraqi has forced the Americans to deal with Islamists, especially in Palestine with a more even-handed approach. The paper implies it is incumbent of those interested in drawing up a “futuristic” viable Palestinian political map to understand the present internal and external inputs of the Palestinian situation and realize that the Islamists, namely Hamas, must be brought in into the system of government.
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