A glimmer of hope for Palestine

For the business paper Financial Times Deutschland, the Middle East conference held in Berlin yesterday represents a small step forwards in the peace process. "The efforts of the international community of states towards creating the basis for a functioning constitutional state in the West Bank ... are justified. At the same time they highlight how desperate the situation still is in the Middle East. No one, except perhaps the outgoing US President George W. Bush, seriously believes that a decision can be reached on the founding of an independent Palestinian state by the end of the year, as agreed at the Annapolis Conference last November. ... The most pressing political problems have yet to be resolved, including the inner-Palestinian power struggle between Fatah and Hamas. In Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad the international community may have a negotiating partner who has the political will for finding a peaceful solution, but that will only be of marginal help if he lacks the necessary authority to push through a solution."

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