Within Palestinian society there are 13 divided factions and the schism between them sometimes works to their disadvantage. Acknowledging this, Palestinians are realizing that they need to rethink their strategy, as the current tactics have not yielded encouraging results and Palestinians have continued to suffer greatly. The various Palestinian factions met in Gaza City on Monday to create a "national unity leadership" comprised of all major groups, as a first step before embarking on a series of political and social reforms. The body would consult with Arafat and the Palestinian Authority in the run up to Palestinian elections tentatively planned for January. An underlying issue was to reconsider attacks against civilians inside Israel, which was proposed for consideration by Fatah movement, the driving force behind the meetings.

Although the final draft, resulting from the meetings, scrapped halting attacks inside Israel and instead endorsed the ongoing Palestinian uprising, it was still a move in the right direction. Palestinians surely must reserve the right to resist their oppressors, but what should be encouraged is holding internal debates and discussions as to how best to stand up to Israeli occupation. It is time for Palestinians to evaluate what this struggle means to them and what they hope to achieve through it. A national agenda must be proposed that can be embraced by the people. Effective resistance does not necessarily connote violent resistance and the struggle must be conducted in a noble manner that can be supported by all Palestinians, we must steal the higher moral ground. Palestinians must exhaust all forms of resistance, particularly through the political arena as well as the increasingly relevant significance of the media.

The importance of having internal debates that tackle issues of justice, corruption and human rights among other pressing topics within Palestinian society has never been more paramount. The different Palestinian factions must come together and show proper leadership that paves the way to deal with these issues as well as responding to the external and uphill struggle to gain independence. The attempt to unify Palestinians and discuss the differences among them must be encouraged as the beginning of an attempt to rethink our strategy.