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The two major Palestinian political factions, Hamas and Fatah, last week announced a unity government, with presidential and legislative elections to be held in the near future. But Israeli authorities are reacting with dismay. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly denounced a unity government over Gaza and the West Bank, slamming Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for participating. The Obama administration went further, reiterating its position that Hamas is a “terrorist organization” and that any unity government that forms must affirm Israel’s right to exist. Hamas has already tacitly accepted Israel’s right to exist alongside a Palestinian state but that fact is rarely raised by either Israel, the U.S., or the mainstream media. In 2006 Hamas, swept to a surprise victory in legislative elections, prompted Western powers to suspend aid to the Hamas stronghold of Gaza. Regardless of the outcome of the agreement, ordinary Palestinians continue to suffer the brunt of Israel’s occupation. Julian Schnabel, director of the acclaimed film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, has new film dramatizing the life of his partner Rula Jebreal, called Miral. Jabreal’s novel, Miral, formed the basis of the film.

GUEST: Rula Jebreal, Palestinian American journalist, author, and screenwriter, author of Miral