Valuable dialogue

That Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo last week did not agree on a total, or even partial, ceasefire does not mean the consultations failed.

The inter-Palestinian dialogue initiated, hosted and, at times, directed by Cairo, served an important purpose: it succeeded in getting all the concerned Palestinian groups to sit together and talk about the future of their cause at a time when new ideas are being proposed on how to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Some of these ideas, like the Geneva Accord, entail serious conceptual shifts on the Palestinian side in terms of both managing the conflict and the parametres of any settlement. It would have been inconceivable that such proposals be dissected in Tel Aviv and Washington while the Palestinians, long denied their legitimate rights, be excluded from a similar process and denied an opportunity to openly voice their concerns and expectations.

Egypt should be praised for bringing the representatives of the Palestinian Authority -- still perceived as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people under occupation -- together with their counterparts from other factions. And if it is perfectly legitimate for those who believe a new ceasefire is not worth pursuing to argue their case, it is equally legitimate for Egypt to have provided a forum within which such arguments, as well as opposing views, could be voiced. That the dialogue ended with no ceasefire does not render the dialogue redundant.

A new round of inter-Palestinian dialogue is always useful and Egypt, for long a key player in the Arab-Israeli conflict, will continue to sponsor such endeavours.