The visit to the Gaza Strip on March 25 by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has provided a ray of hope to the overwhelming desire by Palestinians for an end to the split and a return to genuine reconciliation and national unity.

The last visit to Gaza on Oct. 9, 2014, by the Ramallah-based official on the eve of the Gaza reconstruction conference was not substantive and did not resolve the internal problems in Gaza despite the fact that it included a symbolic meeting of the Palestinian Cabinet. Nevertheless, the meeting in Gaza paved the way for a $5.4 billion international commitment to reconstruct Gaza. Since then, however, the reconstruction has been hampered by continued political squabbling by the two leading Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah.

Some of the unresolved issues include who will control the border crossings, especially the Rafah crossing to and from Egypt, and the fate of some 50,000 Gazan government employees, who were hired by the Hamas-led administration, but who have not been added to the payroll of the Ramallah-based government. Palestinians of all factions have supported the unity government led by Hamdallah, but no resolution has been found for the Hamas-hired employees.

It appears that Hamas is holding out on giving up the border crossings to the Presidential Guards until the issue of their public servants is resolved. The Ramallah government is concerned that if they pay the Hamas-hired public servants, they might be accused of funding terrorism and as a result might be sanctioned by the international community.