Unfortunately, there was little time to relax. On 11 November, the Israeli army assassinated one of Hamas’ field commanders outside Khan Younis. The response from Hamas was swift. In one day, Hamas fired more than 400 shells at nearby Israeli towns, resulting in heavy retaliatory shelling by Israel.

Israel’s Arab neighbours universally condemned the law, calling it discriminatory and racist as well as being an obstacle to peace. The new law also elicited mixed reactions from the Jewish diaspora. Although it appeased some ultra-Orthodox leaders, the pro-Zionist leadership claimed that even the revised version of the law makes the country less democratic

In addition to solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, tension on the Israeli border would be alleviated and a long-term calm could be achieved. Moreover, there would be a real key to political partnership among all Palestinian factions. Consequently, the Egyptian leadership would likely agree to keep the Rafah crossing open because it would be run by an internationally recognized administration.

The demonstrations were quelled by the Palestinian police by force, using batons and tear gas. A large number of demonstrators were reported beaten, including journalists and activists from the civil society. Approximately 60 demonstrators were also beaten, including a large number of journalists, some foreign.

While Saudi Arabia is normalizing its ties with Israel, the US still provides Israel with more than $3 billion annually in military aid. The coniuous builiding of illegal settelements, the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem and the killing of non-violent protestors in Gaza by the Israeli army, all these have killed the Arab Peace Initiative.

Despite the intense emotions the issue evokes, the Palestinian leadership’s continued tiptoeing around the international grandstanding, while largely accepting a deteriorating political and humanitarian reality, has not gone unnoticed in Palestine.

If the Trump administration follows through on its threats, it could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the United States (US) that goes to education, health care and food aid for Palestinian refugees via the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) which is already on shaky financial ground.

The balancing act that Hamas and Fatah are now forced to play requires some external pressure, and it appears that the Egyptians are willing to apply this pressure, especially against Hamas. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is able to exert similar pressure on the PLO, mostly by means of its financial support to the Palestinian government.