The Palestinian cause has been damaged by factionalism, argues a former prime minister

Salam Fayyad believes that even now there is a route to greater unity—and eventual peace

The hamas-led attack on Israel was a case of the expected happening unexpectedly, and on an unprecedented scale. The preplanning was obvious, and the execution not only caught Israel off guard but disoriented it in ways it had arguably never experienced in the long history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

With Hamas eager to own the operation, much of the analysis has so far focused on its possible motives. To be sure, Hamas is a political movement, and speculation about its political motives and aspirations is understandable. But underlying its decision to escalate are a host of grievances, and not taking these seriously threatens to lead to much more disastrous consequences than have been seen so far.