For more than a decade, the leaders of Fatah hoped to hear the kind of announcement that Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar made on Dec. 20. At a meeting with representatives of the various civil defense organizations in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar declared that his movement had made a strategic decision not to govern or administer the Gaza Strip anymore. Sinwar noted that the division among the Palestinian people "harmed all of us as a people and as a liberation movement," and he even admitted what no one before him dared to say. The split with the Palestinian Authority (PA) hurt Hamas as a resistance movement.

A Fatah source in Gaza told Al-Monitor that Sinwar's remarks came as a surprise to the PA. He pointed out that the general impression is that Sinwar did not make the statement only to push forward with the Palestinian reconciliation agreement. The remarks emerged also from a deep realization that the Hamas leadership cannot have it both ways.

Ever since the PA was thrown out of Gaza in disgrace in 2007 during the coup orchestrated by Hamas' military wing, Fatah's leaders were convinced that the rival movement would come begging the PA to take back the reins of power. In fact, this was the very strategy taken by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when he decided to follow the advice of his closest advisers and disengage from Gaza. They argued that economic pressure would force Hamas to realize that they can't play a double game. They cannot fight against Israel while at the same time demanding that it allow the transfer of goods and raw materials.

It took over a decade for the leaders of Hamas to recognize the inherent contradiction in their actions and admit that they had made a fatal mistake that not only cost thousands of Palestinian lives, but also brought the Gaza Strip to economic ruin. Many Gaza residents are now dependent on support from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine just to survive. It is what saves them from starvation.