The agreement between Fatah and Hamas may not last very long. The last agreement, in 2007, failed and led to increased violence between the two groups—and finally to Hamas’s coup in Gaza. Hamas and Fatah militants have been killing each other for decades and reconciliation seems more a ploy for public consumption than a serious goal.

But the deal will have extremely harmful effects that deserve attention. To understand them one must remember the tripartite division of roles in Palestinian politics. Fatah is a political party and movement, whose chairman is Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinian government is the Palestinian Authority or PA, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The PLO is the organization that negotiates with Israel as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” so recognized by the United Nations. The PLO is headed by … Mahmoud Abbas.