Although it is artificial, the end of a year is usually a good time to take stock and to think ahead. Some Palestinians evaluating where they are and assessing their future are cautiously optimistic. Others are downright pessimistic. Like any good debater, one can argue both sides. The reality on the ground, the absence of international will and the potential of a return to an even more right-wing government certainly support pessimistic outlooks.

However, these very same facts as well as some others can give opportunity for a different point of view. The chances that 2013 might witness a political breakthrough in the stalemated Palestinian-Israeli conflict is slim but the Holy Land is where miracles take place, so why not go for an optimistic outlook for a change?

Internally, while the Fatah-Hamas split continues to be reflected in two separate governments in Ramallah and Gaza, important positive signs are being felt politically, rhetorically and on the ground. The leadership of Hamas has supported President Abbas’s bid to the UN to raise the stature of Palestine based on the 1967 borders to that of an observer state. This support, which also included Khaled Meshaal’s public statement in Gaza that his movement will be joining a reformed PLO, has continued despite clear public differences of opinion between Meshaal and Abbas regarding tough words against Israel and calls for a Palestinian state from the river to the sea. Abbas has publicly attacked Meshaal, stating he and Meshaal are committed to the two-state solution.

In addition to the political rapprochement, Palestinian reconciliation efforts are being seen on the ground as gaining ground. Both parties have begun releasing political prisoners from the other side. Fatah leaders attended the 25th anniversary of Hamas in Gaza, and Hamas was for the first time in five years allowed to carry out a public event in the West Bank. The celebration of the Hamas anniversary in Nablus went on without a hitch or obstacle. Fatah has been promised that they will be allowed for the first time since Hamas took power in Gaza to celebrate their 48th anniversary in the Gaza Strip. And while the location of the Fatah event in Gaza almost divided the two sides, agreement was finally reached to allow it in the location chosen by Fatah activists, namely the Katibeh Square in the center of Gaza.