May 8,2008: The Palestinians are fragmenting into dozens of mutually antagonistic factions. The new West Bank police, organized by Fatah, has found themselves battling clan, political and religious militias. Hamas continues to support attacks on Israel, which comes down to several crude Kassam rockets fired into southern Israel each day, plus several attempts to attack Israeli troops guarding the border between Gaza and Israel. Hamas continues to insist that, long range, they will destroy Israel. Because of that, Israeli military leaders do not want to have any ceasefire with Hamas, believing it will be used to pile up more rockets and fortifications for their next major attack on Israel. But the U.S., Europeans and Arab nations want a cease fire, so the Israelis continue to negotiate. Everyone understands that a ceasefire would not be an absolute halt to violence. Several Palestinian terrorist groups would refuse to participate in any ceasefire, and the Israelis would go after key terrorist personnel after such attacks.

Since these peace talks began six months ago, nearly 500 people, most of them Palestinians, have died in terrorist attacks and counter-terror operations. Currently, the UN is demanding that Israel resume fuel shipments to Gaza, despite Hamas attacks on the fuel transfer gate and facilities. Hamas is using the fuel shortage to keep their security forces moving, while denying mobility to the anti-Hamas groups in Gaza.

More Arab diplomats are privately telling the Palestinians (both Hamas and Fatah) that the Arab world is fed up with Palestinian squabbling, corruption and general inability to move forward. This is not expected to change anything, and avoids the fact that the Arab nations caused many of the Palestinians problems by not allowing Palestinians to migrate to other Arab nations after 1947 (the Palestinians could only stay as refugees). Israeli traditionalists see all this as an opportunity to take control of more land in the West Bank (which they see as part of "Greater Israel") and East Jerusalem (traditionally the Arab side of town). The Palestinians insist on removing all Israelis from areas they have moved into since 1967 (when Israel conquered the West Bank). That is not likely to happen because the small religious parties in the Israeli parliament are crucial for forming a government.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah has become increasingly violent, using groups of masked men to attack similarly outfitted pro-government (Sunni and Christian) gangs. Neither side is willing to spark another civil war, yet both sides are becoming more aggressive.