QUARTERLY UPDATE ON CONFLICT AND DIPLOMACY.

The article reports on bilateral, multilateral regional and international events affecting the Palestinians and the future of the peace process. Fatah and Hamas factions agreed to form a unified government. The new Palestinian government is expected to lift the U.S.-led boycott on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel denounced the new government and asserted that it will not deal with its new members, including Mahmud Abbas and Ziad Abu Amr. The intervention of the U.S. government is also discussed.